With a mortality rate of up to 30 percent, blackhead disease can be detrimental to the flock and to poultry producers. Dr. Robert Beckstead's team at North Carolina State University is researching on the disease on a molecular level. Are there alternative treatments and preventatives to consider? Dr. Beckstead shares why producers may reconsider their feeding strategy in the future.

The following is an edited transcript of Kara Keeton's interview with Dr. Robert Beckstead. Click below to hear the full audio:

Kara:              I'm here today with Robert Beckstead, associate professor of poultry science at North Carolina State University. Thank you for joining me today.

Robert:           It's a pleasure to be here.

Kara:              Now, I understand that your area of specialty is molecular diagnostics of poultry. Tell me a little bit more about that field.

Robert:           Molecular biology is really just looking at DNA, RNA or protein and, then, it's using those markers or biological molecules to be able to diagnose diseases. For instance, each species has a very specific genetic makeup, and so, we can use that to detect those species.

Kara:              So, you're able to look at major concerns and health issues facing the poultry industry?

Robert:           We use these as part of our toolkit to be able to study parasites, as well as other pathogens — sometimes, just knowing whether the organism is there, then you can correlate that with the diseases that you see.

Kara:              What are some of the biggest diseases facing the poultry industry today?

Robert:           Some of the biggest diseases facing the poultry industry would be viral diseases that cause problems with the health of the bird, but most people are concerned with bacterial diseases that also have a human health implication. My lab studies “the ugly stepsister,” which are the parasites that are associated with diseases in poultry, and although those parasites don’t cause diseases in humans, they can cause a huge financial risk to the poultry industry.

Kara:              And one of these diseases that I have read that's a major concern these days is blackhead disease. What exactly is that disease and how does it impact the bird?

Robert:           Blackhead disease — or histomoniasis — is caused by a single-cell, anaerobic protozoan parasite called Histomonas meleagridis. In chickens, it can cause up to 30% mortality and increased morbidity, especially in layers or breeders, where it can cause reduced egg production, as well as decrease in the first lay. In turkeys, though, it's quite catastrophic; turkey flocks with an outbreak of histomoniasis can lose 100% of the birds.

Kara:              Which is devastating to a farmer, of course.

Robert:           Yes, it is, and part of the problem that goes along with it is that all the treatments and preventatives for this disease have been taken off the market. So, in reality, when a turkey flock breaks out with blackhead disease, all that the grower and company can do is wait to see how many birds are going to die.

Kara:              Your research has been to study this disease and possible alternatives to treating it. Is that correct?

Robert:           That is correct.

Kara:              What have you discovered in your research?

Robert:           Our research focuses on probably four different areas: First is looking at the genetics of the bird. We've started screens to look for subpopulations of turkeys that may be resistant to the disease, and so, the idea is that maybe we can breed a healthier bird, and that bird will then be resistant to the organism.

The second area that we've looked at is looking for alternative treatments. There's a lot of what you would call “complementary” and “alternative” medicine out there — products that companies are producing to increase the health of the bird or that may have antiprotozoal activity. Our lab is set up to screen a number of these products to be able to see whether or not they can improve the outcome for birds that have been infected with this parasite.

Kara:              What is the success rate found with these screenings?

Robert:           The success rate for molecules or complementary medicine is zero in the bird. What we've noticed when we started to screen a lot of these molecules is that actually looking at how molecules affect the disease isn't just a matter of whether or not they get rid of the parasite. The research in my lab has begun to focus on how the organism is transmitted bird-to-bird. What we've identified is that birds that are healthy have a tendency to block the transmission of the disease. So, even though the organism may get into a flock, if birds aren't flushing or birds don’t have other enteric problems or gut health problems, then, actually, the transmission of the disease is slow, and you will have fewer birds that will die from the disease.

                        That's changed, in a way, how we are starting to look at products, whereas before, we looked at products to say, "Is this antiprotozoal?" Now, we look at products and say, "Okay. What is this actually doing to the overall health of the bird, and can we measure that in terms of its ability to block that transmission of the parasite?"

Kara:              This is where feed and nutrition really come in to play a role in this whole research and development of alternative ways to address this disease.

Robert:           That is correct. Really, it's opening up the doors to be able to look at alternative products and ask the question of whether or not they are improving the health of the bird. At the same time, what we've noticed is that other pathogens can also cause the bird to be ill and that, then, sets the bird up for transmission of the disease. So, if we find a product that improves the health of the bird because it reduces some of the bacterial load that's associated with the bacterial pathogens, that actually can have a positive effect on the disease that we're studying — blackhead disease — because a healthier bird isn't going to have less transmission of the disease.

Kara:              Are there any technological advances that you're able to use in your research that have really helped move this forward as you're studying bird health and gut health?

Robert:           The disease that I study begins in the ceca. The ceca is a pouch that's part of the intestinal system, where fermentation occurs in the bird. In most cases, nutritionists or scientists or growers really don’t care about the ceca because it doesn’t play a role in feed conversion as much. It doesn’t play a role much in weight gain and it's at the end of the digestive tract. The problem is that's where Histomonas resides. Salmonella, E. coli, campylobacter — all these organisms are living in the ceca and, in a sense, we're not as worried about it.

                        The new technology that we're pushing — and, also, that my lab is working on — is: How do we encapsulate some of these products, which, as we've shown in an in-vitro system, can have antiprotozoal or antimicrobial activity and get them to the ceca? So, in order for them to not be digested, absorbed, changed in some way through the microbial community, we need to deliver them to the ceca so that they can have that activity in the location where it's needed.

Kara:              Where do you hope to see the research develop in the next few years and developing ways to address these problems and maybe move towards new solutions for these diseases?

Robert:           I'll give you this as a caveat because I'm a parasitologist, but I really think that, as we begin to lose more of the drugs and treatments that we currently have, we're going to have to actually develop new strategies, and those strategies are really going to be a focus on bird health. Currently — and this is a broad stroke — diets are designed based on feed conversion ratio and how much it's going to make the bird gain weight. That's how we make our money and that's how we keep our product cheap or affordable, but, in the future, we may have to start to design diets primarily on health and then, secondarily, look at, “How does this affect feed conversion? How does this affect weight gain in the bird?” That actually opens up a large research area to say, “How is it that we test a product to determine whether or not it actually is improving the health of the bird or is causing problems?”

                        I'll give you an example: We've tested some essential oils and, at lower levels, we see some good effects in terms of the health of the bird — but if we increase those levels, it causes some damage to the gut, and now, the bird begins to flush, and now, we start to see increased transmission rates of blackhead disease. So where, on one condition, that product may actually be useful, but where more product may actually cause a problem for the bird — and so, we need to be able to look at each product as we would if we were trying to get FDA regulation and actually really understand how that product is helping the bird and in what condition.

Kara:              It looks like you still have a long road ahead as you continue to explore other avenues for addressing these issues with the reduction in antibiotics and drugs in the industry, but I think you're making some progress with some of the developments.

Robert:           Yeah. I'm excited for the research moving forward. I think it is going to, in a sense, in the future, revolutionize how we grow chickens and actually make ourselves better — both for the chicken itself but also better for the consumer and better for the environment.

                        I also think some of the research is occurring now because, in the poultry industry — well, in animal agriculture — we're being forced to find alternatives, but these alternatives in the future will actually make it back into human medicine. And so, the stuff that we're learning right now, in terms of understanding how we can treat a bird without using antibiotics, maybe, in the future, will help us understand how we can treat a human without the use of antibiotics and be able to reduce antibiotic use across the board, not just in animal agriculture.

Kara:              That sounds wonderful. Thank you for joining me today, Dr. Beckstead, and I hope you enjoy your day.

Robert:           Thank you.

Kara:              That was Dr. Robert Beckstead, associate professor for poultry science at North Carolina State University.

I would like to learn more about supporting the health and productivity of my flock!

The following is an edited transcript of Tom Martin's interview with Dr. Raj Kasula. Click below to hear the full audio:

Tom:            Raj Kasula is a poultry technical consultant at Ridley Feed Ingredients. A certified professional animal scientist for poultry via the American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists, he has more than 28 years of experience in multispecies animal nutrition with a focus on poultry. He is currently spearheading the development of a modern version of layer nutrition software called the Alltech Poultry Model. He is also the Alltech lead on projects such as the Alltech Egg Squad, poultry blocks, a natural de-wormer, extruded chicken starter feed and vitamin organic trace mineral premix. We thank you for joining us, Raj.

Raj:              Thank you. My pleasure.

Tom:            Are consumers becoming more critical of egg quality? What are they looking for in an egg?

Raj:              At the consumer level, they are probably not so critical about the eggshell quality. However, they are interested in egg quality in the sense that they walk into the superstore, then they're looking for a selection of eggs, from a regular commercial egg to a pasture-raised or organic to enriched eggs, in terms of pigment or omega-3 or selenium or vitamin E. So, yeah, they're definitely looking for quality and value from the egg as compared to just the traditional belief of “an egg is an egg is an egg.”

Tom:            I'm curious, because I know most of us mainly check to see if the eggs are cracked, but what does somebody with your expertise look for when you go to the grocery store to buy eggs? Or do you have another source?

Raj:              Yeah, being in the industry and working so closely with the birds and eggs, my way of looking at eggs will be really different. Certainly, I do look for the total quality in terms of external parameters of the egg: the shape, the color, the strength (like any cracks on it), how clean it is and how glossy it is, because from each of those parameters, I can read what the hen is about, what is going on with the hen. So, definitely, yes, my look will be totally different.

Tom:            It would be interesting to take Raj Kasula along with us to the supermarket now and then! From a producer perspective, what are the characteristics of superior eggshell quality?

Raj:              From the producer's perspective, among the eggs that don't make [it] to market, about 90 percent of them are due to the poor shell quality. A producer is producing the eggs to make money, and he doesn't make money unless those eggs make it to the market. So, to see any returns, he has to get the egg into the market, and if the shell is not good — doesn't show good color, good shape; it’s not hard enough, the egg cracks, are dirty — they're not going to make [it] to market. That’s the problem in about 90-plus percent of the cases where the eggs don't make [it] to the market.

Tom:            I mentioned that, for the average consumer, we open up the carton and we look to see if they're cracked, and that's kind of how we make our decision, but how significant is an egg breakage? Are there ways, through nutrition, to strengthen the shell to prevent cracking?

Raj:              Eggshell breakage is actually a natural phenomenon, I should say. As the bird is growing older, the size of the egg increases. The shell gland’s capability of depositing calcium on an egg remains the same. It's able to deposit only the same amount of calcium on the egg. So, when the egg is growing bigger, it's tilling out on the egg. That’s how it becomes a bit soft and breaks; it can crack. There is a natural phenomenon, but then, there are ways — by nutrition and management — we can try to minimize that.

Tom:            And is there a certain point in the bird's life-cycle when the producer should start thinking about egg development and about eggshell quality?

Raj:              Typically, anywhere about 45-50 weeks of age. If the producer has been in the business and [is] seasoned enough, he would know that he has to take some additional precautions with his nutrition and management toward the eggshell quality, and it usually happens.

Tom:            Do you recommended a general nutritional strategy, or does it vary from farm to farm, types of birds to types of birds?

Raj:              It’s pretty general, although there are some minor differences depending on the type of farming, such as cage-free or organic or free-range, and the specialty eggs. There are some different strategies for those.

Tom:            So, what sorts of nutritional additives, such as vitamins and minerals, have proven effective in ensuring superior external and internal egg quality?

Raj:              Yeah, let me talk about the external quality first. For the external quality, especially the shell strength, calcium is the key. It is very important to make sure that you provide all the things required by the bird's physiology to absorb calcium from the gut — these levels of calcium, levels of phosphorous — because calcium and phosphorus work together. It is proven that phosphorus, at very high levels beyond the point of production, is not really good for the shell quality. There is another mineral called magnesium, which is also important, that gives the strength to the shell quality, helping the calcium minerals to get on the shell.

                    On top of that is vitamin D, which is important for absorption of calcium from the gut. Vitamin D actually enhances the cell — the interstitial cells — of pigs from the gut to digest the calcium. So that is very important.

                    And then, the trace minerals are very important, because although those are small in quantity — very tiny amounts are required in the ration — when you look at it on the ration, you feel like, “Oh, these are tiny amounts. Do they really make a difference?” And they really do. So, zinc is important and [is] an enzyme that actually helps in formation of calcium carbonate from calcium from the blood and bicarbonate from the blood.

                    We have manganese that helps in the formation of collagen, which is important for formation of the egg and the shell membrane. Then we have copper for some of the glycoproteins, and those, which are, again, components of eggshell and shell membrane. There is also selenium, which is very important for keeping the health of the interstitial cells so that they can absorb more nutrition rapidly. These are my recommendations for primary placement. These are very important.

Tom:            And you recommend organic, correct?

Raj:              I recommend organic because of the efficiency aspect. The trace minerals in the inorganic form and their application use and benefits have been tested and proven for several decades. But, the current trend is in organic minerals because they are a lot more efficient. If you look at research literature, it says the organic minerals are anywhere between three to six times better absorbed from the gut in comparison to inorganic minerals. This is a lot more efficient, because you're feeding the animal less while getting more, and you're not contaminating the environment — the soil — with minerals that are not absorbed.

                    The biggest disadvantage, I would say, with unabsorbed inorganic minerals is that you are feeding the “bugs” in the hindgut, which we don't want. We really want to keep them suppressed. The moment they get these kinds of nutrients, they are going to be more robust, and they're going to be more aggressive when they get a chance to take over. There is enough research to say that organic minerals perform much better than the inorganic minerals — even at lower levels — and on a sustainable basis.

Tom:            Is what's good for the shell also good internally? Are there different or additional additives, minerals, vitamins, that have to be considered for internal health? Do you also have to think about interactions between those?

Raj:              If you're talking about the internal quality of the egg, there are some minerals within the egg mass that are the same as the minerals needed for external shell quality. There are additional considerations for the quality of protein and some of the vitamins and if the producer is focusing on the color of their egg yolk —a darker pigment. If it is a specialty egg enriched with omega-3, omega-6, selenium or vitamin D, vitamin E, those are additional strategies and technologies that you would use to make sure you get them inside the egg yolk.

Tom:            And you've mentioned calcium. Is there something about the size of the calcium particle that's important to consider?

Raj:              Yes, there is. For calcium, the main source in the rations is limestone. There is research showing that limestone is available in many sizes of fine, medium and coarse. The research shows that, when limestone is used as larger particles — especially in the older laying birds — when the birds start laying, they require a sustained release of calcium. If the particle size is too fine, it gets dissolved and absorbed very quick, and it gets excreted also very quick, so there is not a continuous or sustained level of calcium. A larger particle dissolves slowly and gives a sustained level, so the bird is able to calcify the shell during the dark period of the night when she is not eating. That is very important.

                    The larger particles of limestone will also help us in grinding the ration, the nutrients, the feeding grain that it's consuming and liberating nutrients and preventing the digestion for further attack by the good acids and enzymes at subsequent stages.

Tom:            Okay, let's move on to looking at some of the more common problems being encountered by egg producers today. What would you say those are?

Raj:              The disease aspect is very complex and varies from market to market. But in general, as a producer and as a nutritionist, the most common one is the shell quality. There are also behavioral issues, such as pecking. The birds start pecking each other and they end up killing each other — cannibalism. These are some of the issues we commonly find. There are cases where you also find issues with worms; especially when birds that have access to the floor and outside, they end up picking up some of the worm eggs [which] develop inside, and those cause severe production losses.

Tom:            In very recent years, we've seen some spikes in mycotoxins in silage and barlage, in particular, in this country. Are egg producers concerned about mycotoxins?

Raj:              Sure, they are, because mycotoxins are something nobody would like to take a risk with. They are not easily seen; you cannot necessarily determine by sight if a particular ingredient — say, corn, or what have you — has mycotoxins or not. It isn’t visible to the naked eye. So, the best approach would be, like, we do insurance: always have a mycotoxin-binding or a mycotoxin-countering technology built into the ration. Typically, all nutritionists do that.  

Tom:            Tell us about the layer nutrition software that you're working on right now.

Raj:              Okay, the layer nutrition software I'm working on is called the Alltech Poultry Model. This is a software modeled to a particular breed — any breed — based on its life cycle, the way the breed would behave, the modes of ration, and what levels of nutrients are required based on its production and body maintenance. It also takes into consideration the environmental parameters, such as the highest temperature and lowest temperature and the amount of feed the bird is consuming.

                    This software gives a very good idea of the levels of nutrients the bird needs for whatever she's doing at that particular point of time we are evaluating it. So, when we're entering these parameters and the ingredients available, the software will tell you, “Okay, this is what this bird needs, and this is how the ration should be.” It’s then left to the nutritionist to take a look and approve it or make any tweaks needed.

Tom:            Are there any emerging trends, any new technologies in poultry, that have captured your attention and your interest?

Raj:              Yes, lately, in the U.S. at least, I would say the trend is with the cage-free, organic and free-range. Also, the specialty eggs enriched with pigments, omegas, vitamin D, vitamin E. These are all the trends coming up and people are moving toward. I would say they are adding to their range a niche segment, a niche set of products, eggs with these kinds of specialized enrichments. That is something I have seen. Especially, the organic production is picking up much faster than what we usually thought. So, these are the trends, I would say.

Tom:            Raj Kasula is a poultry technical consultant at Ridley Feed Ingredients. We thank you so much for spending time with us, Raj.

Raj:              Thank you, Tom. My pleasure.

I want to learn more about supporting health and profitability in my poultry production. 

The following is an edited transcript of Tom Martin's interview with Dr. Kayla Price, poultry technical manager for Alltech Canada. Click below to hear the full interview:

After you read or hear this interview, you may never look at an egg quite the same way again. Dr. Kayla Price is poultry technical manager for Alltech Canada. Price joined Tom Martin from Ontario, Canada, to talk about eggshell quality and why it matters.

Tom:                          For this discussion, we're focusing on the outside of the egg. Let's first go to the basic question: What is eggshell quality? What does that mean?

Kayla:                         I think eggshell quality means different things to different people. And when we focus on the outside of the egg specifically, we’re looking at things like eggshell thickness, what is the eggshell strength, how difficult or how easy is it to actually break that egg. And then, what does that egg look like in terms of dirty spots on it, or anything else to that effect. The external quality is very different than the internal quality. But, for this podcast, we're just focusing on the outside of the egg.

Tom:                          And do the uses of eggs vary according to how they are graded?

Kayla:                         Absolutely. If you look at the grading system — and it's only a little bit different where I'm from in the Canadian grading system versus in the U.S. or even globally — there are some basic commonalities. We’re looking at eggs of different sizes, which can go from small to large, extra-large or jumbo. Most of what you see that comes to the table is going to be that larger size, whereas the other sizes may be beneficial in terms of eggs that come in cartons, so they're already cracked, versus the eggs that would be table eggs. You also have lower-graded eggs that may have a small crack on them or a small dirt spot, but the inside is still usable.

Tom:                          Are there specific strategies for developing quality shells of different sizes?

Kayla:                         In general, the hen is always going to be laying the same part of the egg, whether that egg is small, large or extra-large. So, when we talk about eggshell quality, we’re really talking about it in general. We really want that hen to be getting the nutrients and the management that she needs in order to build the shell of that egg.

                                    That being said, with the hen, she's laying the same amount of shell components whether she's young and laying a small egg or whether she's older and laying a larger egg. So, in that bird that is older or toward the extra-large, that same amount of shell component is going to cover a different amount of space versus that same amount of shell component on a small egg. But again, we can use the same management techniques regardless of the size of that egg, because you're trying to avoid those under-grade eggs, which are your dirty eggs or your cracked eggs, regardless of the size.

Tom:                          Okay. Now, if I’m going after a premium quality egg, what are the essentials that I need to take into consideration?

Kayla:                         When I start thinking of the word “premium,” I'm really looking for an egg that is going to have a good, hard shell to it, so it will not break easily. It won't break when it’s at the farm, when it’s moving to the processing plant and, ultimately, it won’t break when it's in the carton before we break that egg to put in the skillet. We’re looking for that outside eggshell quality just as much as that internal quality, like making sure that the yolk looks good and the egg white looks good.

                                    In terms of the essentials, there are a couple of things to consider. You can start looking at the nutrition of the bird — what goes into making that eggshell just as much as the internal component — and you also have to start thinking about management: the health of that bird, how old is that bird and what needs to be changed depending on the age, the environment and, to a small extent, the genetics. The things that we can change would certainly be nutrition management, health and environment.

Tom:                          At what point in bird's life cycle should producers start thinking about egg development and eggshell quality?

Kayla:                         I think that's a really interesting question because when people start thinking about eggshell quality, the first thing that comes to mind is when the hen actually starts laying that egg, which is about halfway through her full lifespan. If you only start looking at eggshell quality halfway through, then you’re really only capturing half the potential. I think it's really important to start having that conversation when that poulet or hen starts to be placed in her housing system and continue all the way through the growing phase, before she reaches the age of maturity to be producing an egg and then also continuing it through. The idea being that you're setting up the bird for proper body confirmation and skeletal development, which are going to have an impact on the eggshell quality — shell thickness, —  just as much as they impact the size of the egg and how well the bird can lay that egg. So, again, I think it's important to start thinking about things from the very start, as opposed to when that hen starts laying that egg.

Tom:                          Why should calcium receive particular attention?

Kayla:                         Calcium is something that people always go to when they start thinking about eggshells because many people know the eggshell has a good amount of calcium within it. So, this is the first thing that people start thinking about. It is incredibly important because the eggshell itself is about 95 percent calcium carbonate. One of the main components of calcium carbonate is calcium. So, this is something that certainly needs particular attention.

Tom:                          Is the size of the calcium particle important?

Kayla:                         Yes, it is. This is something that people in the industry are taking more notice of. It’s important to talk about the different sizes. So, you can go from a fine calcium particle size to a medium calcium particle size to a coarse calcium particle size.

                                    What’s important is, you have to think of the fine calcium size as giving that quick shot of calcium. The bird can absorb it quite quickly because they don't need to break it down at all. But, if you start moving toward the coarse calcium, this one is good because it takes more time for that bird to break down the calcium and a longer amount of time for that bird to absorb the calcium. This is important as the bird goes into nighttime and starts really putting that calcium onto the shell or laying down that shell, because when it’s nighttime, she’s not eating. This slow release or slow breakdown of coarse calcium really helps out during this time.

                                    It’s not that you only need one or only the other — you need a good combination of both. This changes as the bird gets older. As the bird gets older, you’re tending toward going more and more coarse but still having a certain amount of fine particle size in there. It’s really about knowing your ratios, and that's where the nutritionist can help in terms of how to deal with the fine-to-coarse calcium ratio.

Tom:                          What other nutrition elements such as minerals can impact eggshell quality, and how?

Kayla:                         In terms of other nutrition elements, I think it's important to start thinking about what they are. As I said before, when people think of eggs, they often think of calcium in terms of the actual eggshell, but there are other components to it.

                                    In the eggshell itself, you have an inner as well as an outer shell membrane. That outer shell membrane is the calcium carbonate, and the inner shell membrane is made of many other components. You want to make sure that you're building strength, not just in your outer shell membrane, but also in that inner shell membrane. This is really where other nutritional elements come into play — like minerals, which have a very important role in building that eggshell, somewhat in terms of the outer, but also somewhat in terms of the inner shell membrane.

                                    For example, minerals like copper, which helps a little bit in collagen formation in terms of that eggshell membrane. Similarly, minerals like manganese and zinc, each sort of playing their own different role. Then you can look to minerals like selenium, which supports the reproductive tract itself.

                                    So, these elements, and components like that carbonate component of calcium carbonate, or all other elements that are important for the actual eggshell quality, have very different roles to play within the whole system itself.

Tom:                          How is eggshell quality impacted by gut health? Is there a direct relationship?

Kayla:                         It's more of an indirect relationship. I always say that the bird is ultimately a gut with lots of things attached to it. That can be applied to any bird that we want to talk about because, ultimately, what we're putting into the bird and having that bird eat, we want it to be able to translate into the performance factors as well as health factors.

                                    In this case, with the laying hen, a hen that is going to provide us our table eggs, we want our feed ultimately to translate into table eggs, or more table eggs, at the end of the day. So, if we have a gut that is healthy and that is acting the way we want it to, it means this gut is able to absorb nutrients and translate those nutrients as well as absorb things like calcium, like minerals and, ultimately, translate that so it can be used within that reproductive tract or other places within the body. So, direct, perhaps not, but certainly indirect, and there is a role between them.

Tom:                          What are some of the more common problems being encountered today by egg producers that they're trying to work around or work through?

Kayla:                         There are always many different kinds of problems, and new problems evolve as we keep raising these birds. But I think the one specifically related to the egg itself at the moment would be — that isn’t related to viral issues, which are certainly happening in the industry and are very important and I wouldn't want to ignore — but relating specifically to the egg, would be looking at things like deep cracks in the eggs, especially as people start either thinking or moving toward, or are already using, these alternative housing systems. You want to make sure you have a nice strong egg that is not going to be easily cracked by other things happening within the system just as much as you want to make sure you have a good internal eggshell quality, and you want to make sure that you are able to maintain that food safety aspect so that you're able to provide safe food or safe eggs, ultimately, for the public that is consuming those eggs. So, those would be common problems encountered by egg producers. And, again, the biggest one being those downgraded eggs, which would be your cracks, which would be your dirty eggs.

Tom:                          What does it mean to support the good guys in relation to eggshell quality?

Kayla:                         I think it's a very interesting phrase, “supporting the good guys.” It relates back to this indirect relationship between gut health and eggshell quality. So, ultimately, with gut health, we want to make sure we're maintaining a healthy and well-balanced gut, meaning that in the gut, there can be good microbes or good bacteria. There can be bad bacteria or bad microbes, or those that are potentially bad. Those that are potentially bad are opportunistic. Given the right environment, they will become bad or they will become a problem.

                                    When we relate back to gut health, we want to make sure we have this balance between our good guys, our potentially bad guys and our bad guys. In order to help with gut health and, ultimately, help with how that gut is able to digest and absorb nutrients and then translate this within the body to help with the egg and the eggshell, we want to make sure that we're supporting those beneficial bacteria — or supporting the good guys. The end goal is to maintain good gut health.

Tom:                          How do you manage and sustain that balance?

Kayla:                         There are a couple different factors. It's never just one thing that's going to solve the problem. Everyone always looks for that silver bullet, but when it comes to animals and to biology, a silver bullet is almost an impossible goal. You want to make sure that there is a good combination of management practices. We want to make sure that we're using the best practices in managing the birds, just as much as biosecurity on the farm — which is incredibly important as we start thinking about other viral or bacterial problems that can potentially impact these birds — and the type of nutrition that these birds are receiving.

                                    We want to make sure that they are receiving the best nutrition possible with the best ingredients possible. We want to make sure that those ingredients are free from contaminants like mycotoxins and use minerals in their best possible form that are most available and well-absorbed by the bird. This would be things like organic trace minerals versus what is very commonly used as inorganic trace minerals.

                                 And then also making sure when we talk about management, we want to make sure that there's proper water quality. At the end of the day, we just want to make sure we have a good combination program within the diet and the nutrition, a good feed additive program, to help with that just as much as a good management program and good biosecurity.

Tom:                          Dr. Price, when we began the conversation, I said we were going to focus on the outside of the egg, but I'm wondering, does the internal quality of an egg in some way impact the quality of its shell?

Kayla:                         That’s an interesting question because we're still talking about the egg itself. But when we talk about the internal quality of the egg, we're really talking about aspects like the yolk color, what the yolk looks like or how high that yolk is, just as much as what the egg white looks like and how that egg white spreads. So, in terms of if the internal eggshell quality is going to have a direct effect on how easily or if the shell cracks, possibly not. I think this is more of an indirect relationship where if you're focusing on a good quality internally and externally, ultimately, you're going to have a good-quality egg overall. That’s really the target: making sure we have a good-quality egg that is safe for consumers.

Tom:                          Are there some programs for enhancing eggshell quality that you recommend?

Kayla:                         I think this goes back to that combination program. Again, it's important to look at not only management, biosecurity and nutrition, but also the feed additive program.

                                 We touched a little bit on organic trace minerals and making sure that you're using organic trace minerals that are bioavailable to the bird, supporting good absorption and using other additive components that can help in terms of supporting those good guys or supporting the beneficial bacteria within the gut.

                                    This can mean using components like mannan-enriched fractions, which help selectively remove bad bacteria and allow room for good bacteria to thrive. There are plenty of other feed additive components that can be built into a program to make sure that you have a comprehensive program on the feed additive side. That can be combined with a full program on the nutrition side and with management and biosecurity.

Tom:                          Are there any emerging trends in poultry out there that you're watching that have captured your interest and attention?

Kayla:                         Yes. There are always some new and interesting things. Unfortunately, sometimes it relates to viruses. I think something to watch in the layer world — people have been talking about this virus — is false layer syndrome. We are certainly watching how this can be handled. This is one of many emerging things, along with making sure that we have the right biosecurity to avoid any other possible avian influenza outbreaks, which we haven't seen at all lately. Hopefully, we will not see any in the future. And, of course, making sure that we do what we can to achieve fewer cracks and dirty eggs.

                                 So, there are a couple of different things to watch out for. Another one is the constant concern about food safety and making sure that we're producing safe food for our consumers and being transparent in showing that we’re producing safe food for our consumers. 

                                    Those are a couple of different things that really grab my attention and I will continue to follow.

Tom:                          Dr. Kayla Price is poultry technical manager for Alltech Canada.  And thank you so much for joining us.

Why eggs don’t make it to the store shelf 

1. Egg loss: broken eggs that cannot be sold
2. Downgrading: eggs that are given a lower score due to visible defects

Strengthening the shell

Putting the eggshell to the test