I SAID……Breeder Nutrition! Breeder Nutrition!

by Daryl Holle

There comes a time towards the end of a laying season when it would be wise to reflect over the last year to identify any problems you had with reproduction on your farm. If you experienced less-than-desirable results with fertility, egg production, odd shaped eggs, eggs that were hard to incubate, eggs hard to hatch, embryos that were deformed, slow growing chicks, or chicks with bone structure problems, you may be feeding your Breeder pair an inadequate nutrition program. Most ranchers are not aware, or forget from time to time, that the Breeder nutritional program is also directly related to hatchability and chick survival during the first few weeks of its life. Some clues to Breeder nutritional deficiencies are chicks that won’t pip out on their own, chicks with yolk sack infections, chicks with leg problems, and chicks that go off feed between 10 and 14 days of age. All of these clues indicate a possible poor Breeder pair nutrition program.

Solving these kinds of reproductive/growth problems requires dedication to the best nutrition you can find for your Breeder pairs–not just during the laying season, but YEAR AROUND. It is tempting for some ranchers to cut back on feed costs during the off season by purchasing the cheapest feed that they can find. This usually is a big mistake as the off season is the time for birds to regain lost body reserves of important nutrients while regaining lost body weight without getting too fat. During the breeding season, it is of utmost importance to maintain a balanced diet with feed that contains high levels of minerals, trace minerals, and vitamins to ensure these nutrients will be passed on to the yolk and shell of the egg.

The next step is to be sure you are feeding the recommended amount per bird per day so they have a chance to actually consume those levels and amounts of nutrients. If you are feeding 3 lbs. of feed per bird per day and the manufacturer recommends 5 lbs, it is only a matter of time before this “short feeding” catches up with you. And, it usually catches up with you when you least expect it–and, in places you never thought possible.

Our research shows that in addition to higher levels of minerals, trace minerals, and vitamins, it is also important that the major ingredients in the feed are from quality sources that are easily utilized by the bird. Some feeds contain poultry meal, blood meal, meat & bone meal, and fish meal. These are animal by-products that have high levels of inert “by-pass” or bound protein due to the manner in which they were processed. The ratite species sometimes has trouble completely digesting these ingredients as there is not enough time to dissolve this bound protein before it goes out on the ground. The Emu especially has trouble with this type of protein as its digestive tract is only 5-6 hours long. The result is poor bird performance, and if severe enough, the birds will actually have a starved appearance to them. The severity of this problem depends entirely on the number of these products used and the total amount in the feed. One animal product, at low levels, will not be significant and may actually help the overall ration performance. Two or more of these ingredients along with lower levels of added minerals, trace minerals, and vitamins could have a severe effect on the nutritional adequacy of the Breeder pair. Animal by-products were all once very wet and were dried using high heat. In addition to the bound protein problem, the natural enzymes and vitamins will most certainly be lost during this high heat drying or processing. This will result in a feed without much “punch” to it.

WHY ARE HIGH LEVELS OF MINERALS, TRACE MINERALS, AND VITAMINS IMPORTANT?
We just completed a survey of our Blue Mountain customers, from several states, who have been feeding Blue Mountain feed to their Breeder pairs for the second full year. These ranchers report good fertility, hatchability, and chick survival. They also reported there were very few assisted hatches, no yolk sack infection problems, no leg problems, and very few problems with chicks going off feed when our exact feeding program was followed. These farms also commented that Breeder pairs started mating earlier and are laying longer this year, despite the weather, than ever before.

The eggs are more uniform in size with the best shell porosity they have seen. The evenly spaced, deeper pores of the shell allow easier incubation because of a more uniform weight loss. The chicks appear to be more resistant to bacterial and virus infections and are easier to raise than before.

I report these facts from the standpoint that an adequate nutritional program is a must for your Breeder pair. Higher levels of minerals, trace minerals, and vitamins played a instrumental role in the overall success of these ranches. In addition, minimal usage of animal by-products in the feed ensured that enough “punch” or potency was there to get the job done.

Another significant fact to be learned from these results is that it takes a FULL TWO YEARS using a good nutrition program to realize its fullest benefit. However, you may see small improvements along the way. Many people will change feeds every 3 months or so as they don’t see any results. It takes much longer than this to have any affect on chick survival rates. If you’re already having troubles in the above mentioned areas, it is obvious that your laying hen is deficient of needed nutrients. It will take one complete season or cycle of the laying hen to build up the reserves again. Then, after an off season of controlled feeding with adequate nutrition, the eggs laid the following year will carry a much improved chick survival rate. Nothing happens overnight when it comes to total nutrient conversions inside the body.

HOW DO YOU IDENTIFY IF THERE ARE ENOUGH MINERALS, TRACE MINERALS, AND VITAMINS IN YOUR FEED?
The above success farms were using a Breeder feed that was approximately 2% calcium and 1% phosphorus. Other supplemented minerals were potassium, magnesium, and zinc, etc. High levels of many trace minerals including copper, manganese, and selenium were used along with low levels of iron as ratites are extremely sensitive to iron. High levels of inert iron are found in the lower grades of calcium and phosphorus. Only higher grades of calcium/phosphorus should be used in ratite feeds to prevent this iron sensitivity problem.

Total vitamin A consumption per bird per day was a minimum of 55,000 IU. Total vitamin D consumption was a minimum of 15,000 IU per bird per day. Total vitamin E consumption was a minimum of 400 IU per bird per day. The actual amounts consumed were much more than I just indicated, but that information is confidential. This may sound like a lot to you, and some feed company nutritionist may tell you that this much is not needed and is a waste of money. I report to you with this writing that our research shows that feeding any less than these amounts will cause chick survival problems to appear. The severity of which is directly related to lessening amounts.

The water soluble vitamin content of the feed is also crucial. These vitamins include thiamine, niacin, biotin, choline, riboflavin, folic acid, d-pantothenic acid, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12. These vitamins have a significant effect on chick hatching and growth during the first 3 weeks of age. The mentioned water soluble vitamins are the most overlooked by most nutritionists who usually put a minimal amount in ratite feed–if any at all. Breeding birds need high levels of these vitamins at correct ratios to one another to ensure a good nutrient transfer from hen to egg, and egg to chick.

The levels of these vitamins and trace minerals used in these studies are confidential. But, if you are having chick survival problems, this is the first place to look for improvements. The levels of this group of vitamins are extremely important to hatchability, chick development, and chick survival.

IF YOU ARE USING A MINERAL PREMIX AND GRINDING/MIXING YOUR OWN FEED, HOW DO YOU IDENTIFY IF THE FINISHED FEED HAS ENOUGH TRACE MINERALS AND VITAMINS FOR YOUR BREEDER BIRDS?

Major minerals are usually listed in percent and should be guaranteed on the tag of the premix. Trace minerals, if listed on the tag, are usually stated in parts-per-million (ppm). Fat soluble vitamins A, D, and E are listed as international units (IU). The water soluble vitamins are usually listed as milligrams per pound (mg per lb). The calculation is the same for most measures. You first must know the amount of the ingredient contained in the premix as guaranteed on the label. Then, you need to know the inclusion rate of the premix per ton of finished feed. I will use an example of a mineral premix containing 280 IU of vitamin E per lb. The recommended usage, or inclusion rate, is 2 bags per ton of feed or 100 lbs. The formula can be done in 3 steps:

1. (Inclusion rate per ton) multiplied by (Units per lb listed on tag)
= Total units in 1 ton of finished feed

2. (Total units per 1 ton of finished feed) divided by (2000 lbs)
= Units per lb of finished feed

3. (Units per lb of finished feed) multiplied by (lbs consumed daily)
= Total bird Intake per day

Vitamin E example (280 iu/lb listed on tag):
1. 100 lbs inclusion rate times 280 IU per lb = 28,000 Total units

2. 28,000 total units divided by 2000 lbs = 14 units/lb finished feed

3. 14 units/lb feed times 4 lbs/bird daily = 56 units vit. E/bird daily

This example is typical of what exists in the ratite feed industry these days. Vitamin E is an expensive ingredient and most feed manufacturers have cut back on the amounts to enable them to lower the cost of the feed. In this example the 280 units of vitamin E per pound of premix sounds at first like it may be in the area of an acceptable amount. But, when you are only adding 100 lbs of mineral premix per ton, it dilutes down to only 14 units of vitamin E per pound of finished feed. If your Breeder hen eats 4 lbs of this finished feed, she will get a total of only 56 IU of supplemented vitamin E daily. As I mentioned earlier, our best results for chick survival were when the hen consumed not less than 400 units of vitamin E daily. That equals a factor of over 10 times more vitamin E. Vitamin E works with the trace mineral selenium to enhance the immune system of the embryo and chick. This combination will increase resistance to bacterial and viral infections–and will also increase feed efficiency in the gut. This example is only one of about 30 that can be checked on your feed to see if it is nutritionally adequate for your Breeder birds. Just keep in mind that what you first see may not be a good as it first appeared. You must interpret the feed tag.

Let’s try another example. A certain brand of vitamin premix made for ranchers grinding/mixing feed shows a tag guarantee of 800 iu/lb of vitamin E. The recommended inclusion rate per ton of finished feed is 5 pounds of the vitamin premix per one ton of feed. Wow! You may be saying to yourself, as that will turn out to be a lot more vitamin E per pound of finished feed than our first example. INCORRECT! The low inclusion rate of 5 pounds premix per ton of feed makes a BIG difference. Let’s see how:

1. 5 pounds premix times 800 iu/lb is: = 4,000 iu’s per ton of feed

2. 4,000 iu’s divided by 2000 pounds: = 2 iu’s/lb of finished feed

3. 2 iu/lb time 4 pounds fed per day: = 8 iu’s of vit. E per bird daily

The above example is not enough vitamin E in the birds diet to accomplish anything at all–in fact, it may as well been left out. It was only there to catch your attention to make you think everything you needed was there in that vitamin premix.

The GUARANTEED amount is important. The INCLUSION RATE recommendation is just as important if not MORE SO!

I hope this has helped you to understand the importance of a good year-around Breeder nutrition program. It pays off in so many ways. Good nutrition is always the most cost effective feed yielding the highest returns.

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