Spotlight on feed intake, nutrient bioavailability, and FCR at new poultry research unit
It is the latest addition to the company's existing poultry research center in Castilla la-Mancha. The facility adds to the feed mill, hatchery, and other resources already there, a spokesperson told us.
Ana Isabel Garcia Ruiz, research manager poultry, said the new unit complements a deep research infrastructure at Trouw Nutrition.
The company conducts about 150 studies annually, half of which are run at its proprietary research centers. Its researchers partner with well-respected universities across the globe to conduct studies and develop innovations, while validation trials are undertaken in partnership with a network of farms spanning 26 countries.
Diverse production models
The new facility includes four study rooms equipped to conduct different studies simultaneously; it is equipped to enable studies ranging from routine trials evaluating animal performance and carcass quality for meat processing to highly complex research reflecting challenging intestinal conditions and diverse production schemes, said the feed additive producer.
Each study room in the unit can accommodate 48 pens that can be adjusted to reflect different stocking densities, said the firm.
Digestibility and bioavailability cages facilitate precision nutrition research, including how tailoring ingredients can influence feed intake, nutrient bioavailability, and feed conversion ratios (FCR), it reported.
Microbiological technologies and data analysis support research at the facility, added the company.
Scientists can combine molecular biology techniques such as PCR with traditional culture methods and then conduct additional analyses in context with flock performance data. “The resulting insights assist researchers in standardizing animal models that improve understanding of poultry health concerns including malabsorption syndrome, Salmonella, Campylobacter, and dysbacteriosis.”
