New antibiotic regulations drive feed changes
The majority of US poultry producers have made changes to their feed in response to regulations preventing the use of shared-use antibiotics.
More than 90% of poultry producers said they had changed one or more feed additives following the introduction of new antibiotic regulations and the Veterinary Feed Directive, reports Pig Progress.
In a survey carried out by Texas-based nutrition and consulting firm Brakke Consulting, producers indicated that introducing direct-fed microbial (probiotics) were the most common change they made to their feed formulation.
Others increased their use of enzymes, prebiotics, oligosaccharides, organic acids and phytogenics.
The survey of poultry and livestock producers found that the ban had also encouraged farmers to make changes to their farm management practices.
The majority of respondents (74%) said they had increased their use of vaccines, while 70% said they were making increased efforts to improve biosecurity and sanitation.
Other protocols included limpidity co-mingling of birds, making changes to facilities, using immune modulators and making changes to flock genetics.
The potential impact of the loss of shared-use antibiotics was causing widespread concern across the livestock and poultry sectors, with almost two-thirds (62%) saying they expected their products and profit levels to be hit by the ban.
Posted on February 7, 2017