Egg Production in the First Half of the Year: Attention to Enteritis

The first half of the year is particularly special for egg producers as it is the best period both for its production and sale.

But if, on the one hand, a number of factors contribute to boosting business profitability at that time, on the other hand, heat and humidity facilitate the increase of enteric problems in birds.

This means that it takes attention and extra care with the birds so that in fact the farms can take advantage of all the positive factors of production and demand. The rule is clear – but not all producers take heed to it as they should: for egg production to be good, it is essential to act preventively.

In this article, our Business Manager, Nelson Haga, explains what the necessary precautions are to avoid enteric diseases that can adversely affect profitability during this period and why a program using probiotics is decisive.  Follow up!

Positive Factors to Egg Market

After Christmas and New Year’s Eve, classes draw near and family activities begin to return to normal. All this hustle has a direct impact on the egg market, where you see demand and consumption increase significantly.  This lasts until June and July parties in Brazil, during which there is high consumption of sweets that use eggs in its composition.

Another factor that impacts positively for the egg production in the first half of year is Lent, which begins soon after Carnival and extends to the Easter holiday. “In this religious period, there are Catholics who avoid red meat consumption and, consequently, started to consume more eggs. This increased demand therefore results in better prices and higher return for the farms and producers,” says Nelson.

And even when the colder months approach and the photoperiod is decreasing, industrial production farms can meet this demand as they have an artificially lighting program to supplement natural light and maintains a continuous period of 16 hours of light.

But, on the one hand, there are factors that positively impact the egg market, on the other there are those that need to be constantly monitored to ensure that the entire virtuous cycle described above continues to perpetuate.

Attention Points in Egg Production

In the first half of the year in Brazil, the enteric diseases are more common. This is because heat and humidity favor the appearance of birds with enteritis, in addition to being a time with greater problems of quality of raw material that make up the feed, predisposing birds to diseases.

The supplies that make up the feed, mainly corn, have the highest prices in the period preceding the harvests. Thus, it is important to ensure that the nutrients in the grains are used in the digestive tract and are not lost in manure through direct passage due to enteritis.

Focal Duodenal Necrosis

One of the main challenges of the period we can mention is Focal Duodenal Necrosis (FDN), a disease that affects laying hens and is associated with infections by the bacteria Clostridium perfringens and Clostridium colinum.

As clinical signs are nonspecific – no diarrhea presentation on birds or other indication of enteric disease, since the injuries happen internally in the intestinal mucosa – the disease is not likely to be detected in many farms.

Among the main consequences of FDN are a drop in egg production and decreased egg weight, which can cause great economic impact on producers, who need a quality delivery to meet the market demands.

How to Prevent Enteric Diseases

A program based on the use of probiotics is strong ally to prevent diseases that are opportunistic, as FDN. This means that the use of the probiotic in the feed should be done continuously, even before any enteric problems threaten to appear.  The bird health benefit is immeasurable and promotes preventive action to minimize diseases caused by climate change, temperature, and higher humidity. “Only in this way it will be possible to avoid unnecessary expenses and guarantee the profitability that this period of the year offers”, the manager of Biocamp guarantees.

How Probiotics Act

Probiotics improve digestion and absorption of feed nutrients and also allow egg production in expected levels – with good quality of shell and good size. “And two lines of Biocamp’ probiotics have been used in the main centers of egg production in Brazil, including prevention of Focal Duodenal Necrosis (FDN),” Nelson says.

Colostrum® Mix: indicated to promote intestinal health of birds through colonization/recolonization of the microbiota, control enteric diseases such as salmonellosis, clostridiosis and colibacillosis and help to achieve improvements in the zootechnical performance of birds.

Colostrum® Bio21 MIX: indicated to act in the physiological and immunological development of the digestive tract by improving digestibility, food absorption and resistance to bacterial infections.  It improves the zootechnical and productivity rates of birds by achieving intestinal microbial balance and reducing pathogens such as Salmonella, E. coli, Campylobacter, and Clostridium perfringens.

The benefits of using probiotics are greater when the challenges are also great. Keep egg quality, farm productivity and profitability in the businesses. Talk to Biocamp!