Controlling coccidiosis in the poultry house is a fundamental part of poultry management. There are many different anticoccidial programs that can be used for successful coccidiosis control. In this study, Huvepharma® found that switching to Coxidin® on day 13 gave the best protection from coccidiosis.
The coccidiosis challenge varies with the changing seasons throughout the year. During the summer months or dry season when external temperatures are high and ventilation rates are at their highest, the incidence of wet litter goes down. On the other hand, during the winter months or wet season the opposite is true and as a consequence also the coccidiosis challenge in a poultry house tends to increase. To save on energy costs during the winter months, farmers often work at minimum ventilation levels and this leads to a higher incidence of wet litter. The sporulation of oocysts, a crucial step in the build-up of coccidiosis infection pressure, is stimulated in these conditions and the coccidiosis challenge increases.
Coxidin® (monensin) has a positive effect on litter quality. Trials have shown that broilers have dryer faeces and fewer food pad lesions when Coxidin® is used in the diet compared to other anticoccidials.
In this trial, Huvepharma® investigated the impact of a prolonged use of nicarbazin/narasin (nic/nar) in a shuttle program with Coxidin®. The trial was performed at the ILVO research facility in Belgium. The efficacy of the different anticoccidial programs were compared after artificial coccidiosis infection. Nic/nar was applied in full programmes and in different shuttle programmes as shown in Table 1.
The goal of this study was to determine the best performing anticoccidial program in terms of feed conversion rate (FCR; Figure 1) and body weight (BW; Figure 2).
As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the best results were achieved by the group that received Coxidin® from day 13. The results from this group were superior compared to the results from the group that received Coxidin® from Day 27 onwards and groups receiving a full nic/nar program. This indicates that prolonged use of nicarbazin/narasin does not lead to better coccidiosis control, on the contrary, a numerically lower body weight and a significantly higher FCR were seen. In conclusion, the anticoccidial program applied to a flock can have a significant effect on performance so it should be considered carefully. Switching to Coxidin® early could increase body weights and reduce feed conversion rates.
For information on our anticoccidial range please contact [email protected].