Reducing Stress Susceptibility of Broiler Chickens by Supplementing a Yeast Fermentation Product in the Feed or Drinking Water

Abstract

Simple SummaryPoultry are susceptible to stress induced as a response to common management practices such as vaccination, feed withdrawal, and rearing on reused litter as well as severe stressors such as high environmental temperature. These stressors can result in economic costs to producers that are associated with poor growth and disease. Functional metabolites in the yeast fermentation product Original XPCTM have previously shown positive effects on growth performance and immune function in a variety of livestock when incorporated into the diet. This study found that including either Original XPCTM in the feed or its liquid counterpart, AviCareTM, in the drinking water during the entire rearing period can reduce stress and improve the welfare of broiler chickens under many stressful situations.AbstractReducing stress is an important goal in animal production. Previous research has demonstrated the ability of Original XPCTM to reduce the stress response of broilers during heat stress. Three trials were conducted to evaluate the effects of adding Original XPCTM to the feed or AviCareTM to the water on stress susceptibility of broiler chickens. Treatments included: control nonstressed (CNS), control stressed (CS), stressed with Original XPCTM (1.25 kg/metric ton feed, 0–42 days; XPC), and stressed with AviCareTM (160 mL/100 L drinking water, 0–42 days; AVI). All stressed treatments received the following stressors: live coccidiosis vaccination (day 1), reared on reused litter (days 0–42), and heat stress with feed/water withdrawal (12 h on day 18). Plasma corticosterone and heterophil/lymphocyte (H/L) ratio were determined from 60 birds/T on day 19, and 24 birds/T on day 41. Physical asymmetry was determined using bilateral bone measurements from 60 birds/T on day 41. Birds provided XPC or AVI had lower corticosterone and H/L ratios than CS (p < 0.05) on day 19 and lower corticosterone, H/L ratios, and asymmetry scores than both CNS and CS on day 41 (p < 0.05) in all three trials. Supplementing XPC or AVI improved broiler welfare measured by reduced stress indicators after acute heat stress or normal rearing stress in all trials.

Effects of supplementing yeast fermentate in the feed or drinking water on stress susceptibility, plasma chemistry, cytokine levels, antioxidant status, and stress- and immune-related gene expression of broiler chickens

“…Similar results have also been reported in heat-stressed broilers ( Price et al., 2018 ). Previous studies reported lower ASYM in broilers supplemented with yeast fermentate in the feed or drinking water and exposed to many of the same stressors used in this experiment ( Nelson et al., 2018 ). However, in this study there were no treatment differences in ASYM.…”

“…There is also evidence that adding yeast fermentate to either the feed or drinking water improves small intestine histomorphology in Pekin ducks exposed to cyclic heat stress ( Nelson and Archer, 2019 ). In addition, yeast fermentate has been shown to reduce measures of short-term and long-term stress in heat-stressed turkeys ( Bartz, 2016 ) and broiler chickens ( Price et al., 2018 ), and in broilers exposed to acute or rearing stress ( Nelson et al., 2018 ). It has been proposed that the metabolites in yeast fermentation products may help balance the immune and stress responses ( Firman et al., 2013 ).…”

A microencapsulated feed additive containing organic acids, thymol, and vanillin increases in vitro functional activity of peripheral blood leukocytes from broiler chicks

“…The experimental approach used in the present study was not designed to determine which compound in the blend directly impacted heterophil function. There are studies that evaluate specific organic acids and natural compounds, but most of those trials tend to monitor cell numbers in the form of the heterophil:lymphocyte ratio ( Jazi et al., 2018 , Nelson et al., 2018 , Salah et al., 2018 ) instead of actual cell function as we measured in this study. Collectively, the findings of this study suggest that dietary supplementation from a very young age could provide immunological benefits to the bird in the form of early immunomodulation of PBL, including heterophils.…”

Antioxidant Defence Systems and Oxidative Stress in Poultry Biology: An Update

“…Vaccinations [70][71][72] Microbial or virus challenges [73][74][75][76][77][78] Gut dis-bacteriosis [79][80][81][82][83] Pipping and hatching [5,84,85] A growing body of evidence clearly indicates that oxidative stress is involved in most of commercially relevant stresses in poultry production (for review see [1,2,15,60,86]).…”