Consequences of poor feed management and repercussions on profitability and carcass yield.

MSc. Alejandro Salgado was in charge of the presentation on “Consequences of poor feed management and repercussions on profitability and carcass yield” during LPN 2021.

The profitability of poultry production is focused on the best use and reduction of discards both in the field and in the processing plant. The impact of processing plant discards is related to the quality of the poultry received, which can be affected by the handling, genetics, health and nutrition of the poultry.

Nutritional deficiencies and poor feed manufacturing can affect poultry carcass quality and have repercussions on profitability and yields in processing plants. The objective of this presentation is to provide practical experiences in a didactic way on problems derived from nutrition and poor feed handling on profitability and carcass yield.

Among the findings that affect carcass quality related to nutritional deficiencies associated with minerals and vitamins, we can mention those associated with skin damage such as scratched chicken, cannibalism and foot rot. The minerals Zinc and Manganese are important for skin texture depending on their composition of oxides, sulfates or chelates.

The mineral Sodium, plays an important role in nerve activity pro cannibalizes. Vitamin biotin also plays an important role in skin texture.

Scratching and cannibalism affect profitability by promoting discards due to presentation damage and affect yield by reducing utilization through additional cuts of affected parts.

Foot pad dermatitis affects the quality of the foot pad area and also promotes the discard of damaged feet. Both chicken scratching, cannibalism and foot pad dermatitis are closely associated with field management factors such as density and management of feeders and drinkers.

Associated with the mismanagement of raw materials and feed manufacturing that affect the quality of the carcass, we have the presence of mycotoxins in the feed.

Mycotoxins are fungal metabolites that cause bleeding, bruising, pale livers, and eroded gizzards in the carcass. Nutritional strategies to reduce this impact are to review the quality and inclusion levels of mycotoxin binders in the diet, as well as the inclusion of liver protectants such as biotin, choline, and vitamins.

Mycotoxins are antagonistic to vitamins and vital in the absorption of vitamin D in the intestine for the absorption of Calcium. Vit D deficiency promotes poorly formed bone problems and pathological bone problems. Therefore, it is common in feed plants to neglect the use of grains from the bottom of the silo, the use of which requires the dilution of the grains to avoid further damage from mycotoxins, both in yield in the field and in the processing plant.

The quantity and quality of fats used in the feed are highly related to the quality and yield of the carcass.

The feed formulator must maintain an energy/protein ratio according to the specifications of the genetic line and ensure that the acidity and moisture levels of the fat in the balanced feed do not affect the yields in fat deposition in the carcass.

A high level of energy in the diet leads to greater inclusion of fat as an ingredient, promoting excessive fat trimming in the carcass during processing and a reduction in fat in blanching and chilling, directly affecting performance.

At the same time, customer satisfaction is compromised when complaining about the meat-fat ratio in the carcass. Therefore, adjusting the blanching and pre-chiller temperatures to reduce shrinkage are strategies to be followed by the processing line when having carcasses with excess fat.

Bone problems such as lameness, crooked fingers, and fractures also affect yields in processing plants. They may be associated with nutritional factors and poor feed management, mainly due to the Ca:P ratio, granulometry, vitamin sources, and use of enzymes in the diet. An imbalance in Ca:P and vitamin D in the diet promotes brittle bones, leading to additional culling or cutting.

Additionally, an excess of methionine in the diet decreases the rate of bone mineralization. Finally, locomotor problems cause the bird to prostrate and damage the breast with ammonia from the litter, giving it a bad appearance with a possibility of culling, affecting performance and profitability.

With the speed of growth and development of the breast of the new chicken genetic lines, the problem of myopathies has arisen, such as wooden breasts that affect plant yields and that are linked to the nutritional point of view.

Classified as a syndrome, wooden breast occurs when a chicken breast integrates hard muscle fibers with a rubbery and elastic texture, which makes it challenging to eat. The wood breast is not a pathology or disease; its treatment in the plant must avoid discarding and directing these cuts to another additional processing line. The nutritional strategy to avoid this problem is to supply a pre-starter diet with a high nutritional level of amino acids with a lysine adjustment in each feeding phase.

The economic repercussions of poor feed management or a nutritional deficiency originating in the balanced plant translate into a decrease in the profitability of a poultry integration with a direct effect on the processing plant.

The carcass’s quality reflects the actions in genetics, health, management, and nutrition of the bird. In this article, the repercussions of carcass processing were addressed regarding effects on profitability and yield from the perspective of nutritional deficiency and feed manufacturing.