Feed Processing for Optimal Animal Health and Performance

Feed processing methods impact the health and performance of animals. Grain cleaning, seed sorting to remove toxic seeds or materials, particle size reduction, conditioning, pelleting and extrusion health can all affect the health status of the animal including gut health. The impacts of these processes are not consistent between species of livestock and can require customization within species. For example, the impact of fine particles of starch resulting from grinding can have negative consequences on beef and dairy rumen health however, these effects can be acute in nature and therefore are actively managed. On the other hand, fine grinding increases digestibility in swine but too fine of grind can cause stomach ulcers which are not easily observed and the impact is more chronic and therefore not as actively managed. Traditionally grains are finely ground to increase pellet quality and digestion rate by poultry. This reduces retention time in the gizzard and proventriculus therefore reducing exposure of microorganisms to gastric acid which would otherwise prevent viable pathogens from entering the small intestine. Hydrothermal treatments such as conditioning, extrusion or steam explosion can reduce pathogen loads in feed but will alter the rate and extent of digestion of some nutrients such as starch, fibre encapsulated nutrients or protein and this too can affect gut health. The feed industry relies on cost effective feed ingredients but some are low quality materials. In some cases it may make sense to preclean or sort the lower quality grains to reduce the potential negative effects of mycotoxins such as deoxynivalenol, ergot alkaloids or plant based toxins found in weed seeds. In light of restrictions on the use of antibiotics in feed in December of 2018 in Canada, effective preventative strategies to manage enteric disease are more important than ever. The objective of this presentation is to discuss the how each of these feed processes may affect the health and performance of animals.

Published in the proceedings of the Animal Nutrition Conference of Canada 2020. For information on the event, past and future editions, check out https://animalnutritionconference.ca/.