In 2011 the UK broiler industry voluntarily developed a strategy for the responsible use of antibiotics, to-date this has seen an overall decrease in use by 81%. The industry is leading the way, producing safe, affordable chicken to feed the nation. Health and welfare is at the core of the British poultry industries values, driving continued focus to further reduce the reliance on antibiotics, but reserving the right to safe and responsible use when required. To manage health and welfare today, focus has shifted to nutritional interventions, to support the birds development and recovery. The use of gut flora stabilisers (probiotics) have become common practice to maintain a healthy and balanced gut micro-flora. Flavouring compounds are used for their various properties such as anti-inflammatory or anti-bacterial. They can also aid digestion and stimulate appetite.

To assist producers to further reduce reliance on antibiotics Agritech has launched its latest poultry product. Herb-Gano® Integrity a synergistic mixture of natural herbal flavouring compounds known to stimulate appetite and feed intake. This unique combination can be administered to all poultry via the drinking water to stimulate digestion, stabilise the intestinal bacteria, which leads to a protective shield in the gut which results in better performance and drier litter.

The synergy of the ingredients is essential to optimise the product performance.

When setting the criteria to formulate the products requirements we selected natural herbal ingredients like cinnamon, cumin, oregano and star anise which either have antibacterial, antimicrobial or anti-inflammatory properties as a minimum requirement. However we also wanted to ensure that this synergistic blend of natural herbal extracts would also support the digestive processes be able to stimulate the secretion of digestive enzymes, provide a protective shield to protect the balance of the micro-biota in the gut. Of course none of this can happen unless the product attracts the birds to drink water thus stimulating appetite and feed intake. Ultimately by using the product a benefit has to be seen in performance, be it better feed conversion daily weight gain or drier litter so in summary a lot of time and effort and skill is required to produce a product that will perform consistently. However, just to make the task even harder all ingredients have to have the correct legislative approvals, all need to meet quality criteria and satisfy the requirements of the certifying body and in our particular case completely soluble in water and had to be tested on farm.

The recommended program outlined for broilers is from field evaluations that were undertaken in Germany (2021) using 250ml of Herb-Gano®Integrity in 1000 litres of water, administering for three days at the point of the change in feed ration. Results over three cycles found consistent performance with final bodyweight increasing by 70 to 90g with FCR improvements of 3 to 6 points.

Full trial summary available on request.

In essence Herb-Gano®Integrity can be used throughout the growing period, either for maintenance, at a recommended rate of 150 to 250ml per 1,000 litres or for intestinal health issues at 250ml per 1,000 litres.

Herb-Gano®Integrity stocked on farm can be added immediately to the water in the first days of life to support the development of a healthy gut microbiome or used strategically to support feed ration transitions and gut health around peak coccidiosis challenges from 20 to 26 days.

In conclusion one billion British chicken a year are reared to world class welfare standards that are developed and implemented by industry to produce safe affordable chicken. The responsible use of antibiotics was voluntarily implemented by industry and has successfully reduce the reliance on antibiotics. The development of products such as Herb-Gano®Integrity is key to continuing this successful strategy.