New research from Novus International is included in latest issue of Frontiers in Physiology.
Dr. Vivek Kuttappan, Novus Research Scientist
SAINT CHARLES, MO (May 6, 2021) – A concern for poultry producers globally, wooden breast is a degenerative condition affecting chicken breasts that ultimately impacts meat quality and can cost the industry millions each year. New research from Novus International, Inc. recently published in Frontiers in Physiology explains how combinations of feed additives can impact this financially damaging myopathy.
Strategies to reduce wooden breast do exist; these are broadly growth-rate-related and antioxidant-based approaches. The results from these methods vary and sometimes can impact performance such as growth rate, slaughter weight, and breast yield. However, an ideal solution is one that offers repeatable success in reducing incidence of wooden breast without sacrificing performance in broiler birds.
The study*, led by Novus Research Scientist Dr. Vivek Kuttappan, evaluated the effect of various dietary interventions on the incidence of wooden breast, particularly when birds are exposed to oxidative stress.
“Although the exact reason is unclear, it’s well-known that incidence of wooden breast is associated with oxidative stress in broiler birds,” Kuttappan said. “So, we wanted to see if combinations of feed additives such as highly bioavailable sources of trace minerals and dietary antioxidants that address tissue oxidative stress could make an impact.”
Poor quality fat or heat stress can instigate oxidative stress in animals, potentially leading to conditions such as wooden breast. Knowing that, Novus researchers took birds experiencing oxidative stress associated with feeding oxidized fat and heat stress and evaluated how Novus’s MINTREX® trace minerals (zinc, copper and manganese), which are marketed for their bioavailability, along with or without a dietary antioxidant and organic selenium impacted the meat quality.
In the study*, birds fed a diet with oxidized fat, a combination of MINTREX® Zn, MINTREX® Cu, and MINTREX® Mn, along with a dietary antioxidant showed reduced oxidative stress in muscle tissue and significantly increased normal/wooden-breast-free fillets by 22% (33% vs 11% when compared to control birds). Where heat stress was concerned, adding MINTREX® trace minerals alone to the diet showed significant increases (13%) in the incidence of normal fillets (21% vs 8% when compared to control birds), and reduced other poultry carcass quality defects such as tibial head lesions, skin scratches, and breast blisters. Researchers observed a higher magnitude of increase in normal fillets (38% vs. 8% compared to control birds), when MINTREX® was combined with the antioxidant and organic selenium.
“The combination of MINTREX® trace minerals, organic selenium, and dietary antioxidants resulted in the effective reduction of wooden breast severity, plausibly through the reduction of oxidative stress in tissue,” Kuttappan said. “This may be due to the activation of various endogenous antioxidant enzymes and reducing dietary sources of oxidative stress.”
*Frontiers in Physiology is a peer-reviewed Journal that examines the physiology of living systems and its interaction with the environment. The Novus study titled, “Nutritional Intervention Strategies Using Dietary Antioxidants and Organic Trace Minerals to Reduce the Incidence of Wooden Breast and Other Carcass Quality Defects in Broiler Birds,” is included in the April 2021 journal in the Avian Physiology section and is viewable Here.
For more information about MINTREX® trace minerals or Novus, visit www.novusint.com.
Employee selection has been an area of focus and concern for organizations. The role of consultants in employee selection needs a closer look by organizations. Selection of right consultant, transparent communication and robust performance tracking could help organizations manage consultants and reduce lead time in selection while ensuring higher employee retention.
Do you sometimes take longer to fill positions or have a need to fill the same position few times or find it difficult toattract the required talentdespiteengagingmultiple external recruiters (I will call them consultants in my article). It may seem as though these consultants are not able to find suitable candidates and you may think finding newer ones may solve the problem.
You may be surprised to note that more than 90% of the positions filled are in fact replacement positions. This sort of explains the problems faced by our industry in talent management. When companies are busy finding replacements, where would they have time to groom them and develop them. When companies are grappling with an issue of such magnitude, looking to consultants for help may not solve the problem.
Though there are no ideal metrics, I feel that if you take more than 60 days to shortlist and issue offer letter to the successful candidate, your hiring process needs an introspection. In this article I would like to write about how you could better manage the consultants so that you not only get the right candidates but also get them on time and at right cost.
Why are you filling a position?
The first question that you may want to ask is why I am hiring a position. Can this be done by someone inside through job enlargement or job sharing. Could part of the job be eliminated or even outsourced (if it is mundane or very niche). It is a good practice to see if you could find someone internally who could fit. Also asking these questions helps you to be very clear on the requirement. There could be several cases where you start the hiring process only to stop it midway and put the position on hold. Remember every hiring activity that you do costs the company and you may need to be judicious
How could I best fill the position?
What options do you have once you have looked at your internal talents? You could look at employee referrals, database, company website, job portals, job fairs, campus recruitment or look at consultants. Remember you need to maintain a healthy mix of sources in hiring if you want to get a diver set of employees. Each source has its own advantage but also comes with its downside. Job portals might be good at getting more resumes in quick time but how many of them would be suitable or interested is a question.
You may need to decide on the source of hiring depending on the position and your needs. Sometimes you may even look to close positions through multiple sources if the number of positions to be filled are high. Consultants are very handy if you are looking for confidential search or looking to head hunt from a specific company(or competitor) or the requirement is very niche where you do not have the expertise. You may engage consultants if you are looking for some diverse set of candidates or those from other industries/geographies which you have never worked upon.
How do I work with consultants?
Having decided to engage consultant to fill a particular position, please look for a consultant who has very relevant experience and has closed similar positions in the past. Good to seek references from their clients. Please develop a criteria to engage a consultant (things like domain experience, clientele, ability to work across geographies etc) and reach out to them. Evaluate them on these objective criteria and arrive at a decision. Please be clear on the commercials and sign an agreement before you ask them to start working on any position. A few things that I find as good practice are given below;
Professional fee – Do not consider professional fee as make or break criteria. A consultant who could help you close position with right candidate in less than 30 days helps you save cost. Especially if it a sales position every day lost is revenue loss. Even if you pay a slightly higher fee, it makes sense and has a good pay back. Remember, the harder you negotiate and beat them down to lowest rates, there is also a possibility that they may assign lesser priority to your positions. To close a position, consultant too needs to spend lot of resources and they look for better ROI like how you do. A better way to deal with it may be tie the fee with time to fill whereby the consultant gets a higher fee if they could get right candidates within say 2 weeks. This serves as an incentive to the consultant to close the position faster.
Treat them as your business partner – Communicate clearly about the requirement and also about your organization. The working conditions, reporting relationship, opportunities in future. If you have already seen some candidates, pl consider providing the list so that they do not approach the same candidates. Encourage consultants to interact with the hiring managers so that the requirements are clear. Remember, any candidate would want to know more than what is mentioned in the Job description. It is good to provide all relevant information to candidates so that there is transparency. Also show consultants on how you are growing and the value of long term relationship.
Kindly provide timely and specific feedback on the profiles presented by them as this helps them understand the requirement better and find suitable candidates. It is a good practice to revert on a profile in a week and see the logical end in about 2-3 weeks. Any consultant would love to work with organizations that are quick on their selection process and lose interest if there are undue delays.
How many consultants for a position?
Two consultants working on the same position can’t reduce the lead time by 50%. Though some bit of competition might help speeding up the process, there is also a risk that they reach out to same set of candidates. When candidates are getting calls from multiple consultants for the same position, they get a feeling that the company is very desperate to close positions. Worse still is you don’t want to get into a situation where two consultants claim for the same candidate.
Better way to manage is to find the most appropriate consultant and ask them to work exclusively for a week or two. Remember, engaging consultants is like using anti biotics. Excessive usage might be counterproductive.
Track performance – After assigning a position, how do you monitor performance of consultants. Do you track in how many days are they able to get the relevant resumes, how may profiles for a closure, and how long do they stay with the organization. For instance when I was managing HR function, we found out that consultants had given close to about 150 resumes for about 5-6 closures while employee referrals contributed to 15 hires with half of the resumes. A good performance tracking helps you identify the right consultant and also fix issues, if any in your selection process.
Conclusion
As you could see from the article that consultants could be very good source of hiring provided, they are used very judiciously. A good selection of consultant, transparent communication and a robust performance tracking would go a long way in managing your selection process and getting candidates on time. In the absence of these measures, we may leave success to chance and blame consultants for delays/failures while some the problems might be out of their control.
About the author: Mr. Pattabiraman Nagarajan is a HR professional, Consultant, trainer and an ICF certified coach. Has managed organization change and aligned HR practices to ensure business growth. He holds master degree in Social work and a PG Diploma in Business Management from IIM Trichy. He could be reached at npattabiraman@relyonus.in
On 23 April 2021, TNTDPC of CII organized the ‘Conference on Poultry Technologies’ with the focus on poultry industry, technology, and business. The conference discussed an in-depth knowledge of the existing scenario in the poultry processing industry and the emerging trends and technologies for the Indian poultry sector.
Mr SKM Shree Shivkumar, Conference Chairman & CEO & Managing Director, SKM Egg Products Export India Ltd
Mr SKM Shree Shivkumar, Conference Chairman & CEO & Managing Director, SKM Egg Products Export India Ltd delivered the Theme Address.
He highlighted that the Indian domestic poultry industry is the fastest growing segment with a compound growth rate of 18%. Boiler meat production in India is estimated at about 4.8 million tons annually. India’s poultry industry, which includes broilers and eggs, is worth $ 12.96 Billion annually. India now ranks as one of the fastest growing major world poultry markets. He also mentioned that India is the largest egg producer in the world and the per capita consumption of eggs has gone up from 30 eggs per annum to 68 eggs per annum, and per capita consumption of chicken from 400 grams to 2.5 kg per annum in the last few years.
Dr P Selvaraj, Chairman, NECC, Tamil Nadu Zone, India
Dr P Selvaraj, Chairman, National Egg Co-ordination Committee, Tamil Nadu Zone mentioned in his Keynote Address that the poultry market is further projected to reach INR 4,340 Billion by 2024, growing at a CAGR of 16.2%. India today is the one of the world’s largest producer of eggs and broiler meat.
Mr Suresh Chitturi, Chairman – International Egg Commission & Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Srinivasa Farms Pvt Ltd mentioned about the Poultry meat is 50% of the total meat production in India. Food processing stand low even as it amongst world’s largest producers and consumer of food producers. He mentioned about the role of digital technology in disease management outlook, the ability to spot disease or find morbid birds before the entire flock is affected. From a food safety perspective, enhanced Salmonella, Campylobacter and E. coli detection at the early stage. Innovation in Poultry Production – 3D printing prosthetics, Sensors for individualized monitoring, Artificial intelligence (AI) in processing, Augmented reality helping the consumer, Virtual reality (VR) training in production, Block Chain and Internet of Things (IOT). He also mentioned about Government should encourage startups working on the emerging technologies in poultry.
Dr M Angamuthu, IAS, Chairman, APEDA
Dr M Angamuthu, IAS, Chairman, The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority delivered the Inaugural address and mentioned that the Poultry is one of the fastest growing segments of the agricultural sector in India today. The Potential in the sector is due to a combination of factors – growth in per capita income, a growing urban population and falling real poultry prices. Poultry meat is the fastest growing component of global meat demand. He also quoted that, in India, poultry sector growth is being driven by rising incomes and a rapidly expanding middle class, together with the emergence of vertically integrated poultry producers that have reduced consumer prices by lowering production and marketing costs. Integrated production, market transition from live birds to chilled and frozen products, and policies that ensure supplies of competitively priced corn and soybeans are keys to future poultry industry growth in India.
The one day conference had around 250 participants from the following business sectors viz Poultry industries; Hatcheries and Breeding companies; Poultry equipment companies; IT / IOT Companies; Feed manufactures; Animal protein companies; Research companies; Veterinary colleges and Research Institutions; Food companies; Vaccine companies; Poultry Farmers; Other industries and individuals.
Our Poultry Trends magazine was the exclusive Magazine partner for the event.
Note: Announcement details of Conference , agenda and speaker details HERE
CPDO & TI under Government of India (GOI), Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Bangalore, India was established during 1972 to cater to the training needs of the country and of other developing countries in poultry production and allied activities. The institute imparts advanced and specialized training to the technical officers of the Central/State govt. Organizations, agricultural universities, bank and insurance corporations, Cooperative sector, poultry and meat corporations and private sector poultry Organizations of the country.
EPAW is a programme designed for providing basic knowledge takeaways on poultry sector, management, nutrition, diseases, GOI schemes, rural poultry including business models for adoption. This programme is designed for four days including Entrepreneurs Day wherein successful entrepreneurs are invited to share their inspirational stories by their dedication and hard work.
ODF – is mainly designed to discuss in depth about a specific issue in poultry sector. So far, three ODF are organized focusing on
Alternate Species (Duck/Turkey/Quail/Guinea Fowl).
Pan India poultry training facilities both in public and private sector.
Poultry Feeding Trends in India.
CPDO&TI organized all these events online through zoom network and live telecasted in CPDO&TI youtube channel: CPDO&TI TRAINING, Hybiz TV youtube channel and posted in CPDO&TI facebook: cpdoti.bangalore.
The App: CPDO&TI conceptualized the App, presently in Android platform – Google playstore in order to create a diary of past and present events retrievable in a user friendly format. This app was released on 27th March, 2021 during the third ODF at the Institute.
Designed with a choice of language in the first page with both English and regional language Kannada. Once language is selected, the viewer will have a display of Entrepreneurs day and Online Discussion Forum list based on the dates of the event. Further entering the selection of Entrepreneurs Day of a particular date, he/she will see a display of speakers with their image and the talk delivered on that day. The viewer can select topic and the speaker of his/her choice and get the information in an edited video format of less than 30 min. Similar is the arrangement if it is clicked on Online Discussion Forum. On the top of the app page, both facebook and website links of the organization is made available to navigate to both facebook and website of CPDO&TI for further detailed information. At the bottom, setting button can be used at any time to navigate back to the language of selection.
A small attempt is made to dub few of the events of Entrepreneurs day and ODF in Kannada, the regional language for the selected viewers. Presently this App is only in Android format (and can be downloaded by typing CPDO&TI in Google PlayStore). However, IOS – appstore format will be released soon.
After postponing the event Victam Asia twice, now with the current vaccination programs all over the world, we are positive that Victam’s world leading event can be organized again in January 2022! This means that we are getting back on track.
Venue: Impact Exhibition Center, Bangkok, Thailand
Dates: January 12 – 14 – 2022
As many events were postponed the past two years, there will be a full agenda once events can take place again. To optimize the event for our exhibitors and visitors and trying to avoid conflicts with other events, Victam and VNU have decided to join forces: Victam Asia and VIV Asia will be organized in co-location.
The two events Victam Asia and VIV Asia will be organized in co-location at the IMPACT Exhibition Center in Bangkok, Thailand from January 12-14, 2022.
After informing our existing exhibitors, we received many positive reactions on this cooperation, so we trust we are coming back with our event that you have come to know us for, only bigger, better and stronger!
We are thankful that we are able to restart our activities and happy that we will meet again soon. For further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Sebas van den Ende
General Manager
VICTAM Corporation
Hyderabad (India) is known for several things right from its jewels to its food. Little does anyone know that one of the most remarkable revolutions in the Indian poultry industry also began here. With the introduction of automated poultry mechanisms of the West and an imagination of a greater scope for the industry, Shaik Imam Saab stands as a legend in the poultry industry of India.
Born on 22nd February 1930, Shaik Imam Saab finished his schooling at Nampally Government High School and went on to pursue a BSc in Chemistry at Nizam College. Though he initially pursued pharmacy, his interests lay in manufacturing and the industry, which led him to shift to Microbiology. As the only Indian studying at this University in Nebraska, Shaik Imam Saab moved to America in 1948 to pursue microbiology.
Shaik Saab fondly remembers his stay in America as probably the best part of his life. Being the only Indian in the University during his studies, he attracted curiosity among his American friends, some of whom also became family. One such exceptional friendship was with Prof Dick Earl, who was in the Poultry Department at the Agricultural College of the University. The Prof was also a consultant at a poultry company and had his own farm. His was the first automated farm that Shaik Saab had seen – Verdant, with no human beings and fully automated. This inspired him to think of something similar in the Indian context.
After his studies in the University, Shaik Saab worked with the Health Department of the Municipality of Nebraska. He was also invited to continue to work in America but Shaik Saab wanted to come back to India. After frequent visits to Prof Earl’s farm, he began to get a better understanding of the farm and the knowledge of an organizational setup. When he told the Prof that he was interested in working on a similar set up in India, he asked him how he would manage the feed. Shaik Saab was bewildered with that question and asked, “What is feed?”
Incidentally, the first thing Shaik Imam Saab started working on when he came back to India in 1962 was set up Hyfed Feeds, the first formulated feed company in India. He initially received training and literature from the Technical Cooperation Mission, a scheme that came to India in 1962. The poultry experts under the TCM scheme helped him with the development of the feeder, health care, drinking facility and other equipment to make and mix feed. He also made strong relationships with Dr. Moor and Dr. B.V. Rao, who contributed to his growth in his pursuits in the poultry industry. When Shaik Saab started Hyfed Feeds, the farmers were the first ones who were immensely benefited and became permanent customers. Meanwhile, Godrej and Hindustan Lever also started feed companies but they couldn’t manage to get entry into Andhra Pradesh. This was the period when the poultry industry in the country was beginning to make visible changes.
Hyfed Feed was fully functional till 1967 and simultaneously, around 1966 Shaik Saab began doing trials with birds. By 1967, he set up the first Hyline franchise in India and Hyfed Feeds was replaced by Hyfed Hatchery, with the first batch of 500 birds. He had the biggest franchise of Hyline birds till 1972, after which the company left India. However, by 1971, Shaik Saab built his own hatchery on 10 acres land in Malakpet, which began with two incubators and grew steadily for over ten years. His wife Mrs Jamila Banu and his brother Vikaruddin Saab were instrumental in building and nurturing the hatchery. Dr Sitarama Rao, a retired Veterinarian, joined him and had contributed immensely to the hatchery.
Kasila Farms Ltd started in 1981 in collaboration with Hubbard Farms (U.S.A.)
By 1981, he began basic breeding of Hubbard Pureline birds under the Banner of KASILA FARMS PVT LTD., and had the exclusive franchise for Hubbard in India. He started HORIZON FARMS PVT LTD., a parent farm in Mambapur in the year 1985 and tutored his eldest son Mr. Khalid Imam in it. He also started Lohmann Pureline Layer (LSL) breeding unit at Vikarabad under the name of Select Breeders Ltd. in the year 1989-90 for which Mr. Ajaz Imam was incharge of it. He guided Mr. Sajid Imam to start (SPF) Specific Pathogen Free Eggs production in the year 1994 at Kandlapally village, Vikarabad and floated Select Biologicals Pvt Ltd. He had a keen interest in exports which led him to establish Kasila Farms in Sharjah and it was taken care by his youngest son Mr. Ilyas Imam which exported upto 12 countries. By 1992, Shaik Saab developed his own breed Hubchix.
With Dr.Jim Ranson (Hubbard Farms)
Shaik Saab’s contribution to the poultry industry in India, whether it was mechanizing farms, introducing better bird lines or opening up markets, reflects in the status of the industry as the fastest growing sector in agriculture. Over the years, his friends and colleagues became family and his family, especially his wife and brothers, supported his work in the industry with much care. He has also received exceeding support from the Government in all his initiatives and has maintained healthy cooperation with the state.
Later in the year 2017, he was awarded ‘The Living Legend’ award for his contribution to the Poultry Industry globally.
This living legend has left us all in void on the 14th of April 2021.
The above inputs are framed and given to us by Mrs. Surekha Venugopal (Founder – SV Marketing) who initially joined as a personal secretary to Shaik Saab and was elevated to higher designations in various sectors. Here is what she has to say about him.
Surekha: Shaik Imam Sir was my first boss and there never existed an employee – employer bond between the two of us. The reason behind me considering him as my fatherly figure is that I have lost my father at a very early stage and never got to be guided. The feeling was mutual for us. He never missed an event unattended. From my wedding to my children’s birthday parties which were all small scale, he would show up with a big smile and with the entire family. He taught us the values.
I’m personally very blessed to be under his guidance. He has nurtured and groomed me to be the person I am today in front of you all.
He was a true example of simplicity and diversity which very fondly reminds me of him driving his car to work until the age of 88. He never believed in awards and recognition which is one of the reasons he never received any until the age of 87. This award (‘The Living Legend’) was accepted by him with the greatest effort put across by his oldest son Mr. Khalid Imam. It took us a lot of convincing to see him up on the stage on that day. I cannot stop quoting examples of him, his simplicity and humbleness.
Today, I stand straight and look up to him every single day of my life thanking him in every step I take. He is not just a role model for me, but for my children too, who fondly called him – Shaik Tatha.
Will always move forward in life with all the life lessons learnt from you Sir. We all miss you and this is not a final goodbye. YOU WILL ALWAYS LIVE IN OUR HEARTS FOREVER AND EVER.
The information gathered is put up here to the best of my knowledge and ability. Please consider my sincere apologies if I have failed to add a few points or if there is any disparity in his life story.
A healthy chicken gut is essential for optimum digestibility, maximum nutrient absorption, immunity development and disease resistance. Disruption of gut integrity and imbalance of gut microbiota may have negative effects on feed conversion, productivity, and health of chicken.
Dr. Anjan Mondal, Senior Technical Manager, Novus International, Inc.
For the last few decades in poultry production, antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs) have been widely used in poultry diets to promote growth, improve feed efficiency and control dysbacteriosis and enteric diseases. Unfortunately, the extensive use of antibiotic growth promoters at subtherapeutic doses in poultry diets has the possibility to generate antibiotic resistant pathogens in animal products. Antibiotic-free poultry production is a common trend worldwide because the use of antibiotics has been banned by governments in many countries and due to increasing concerns about antibiotic resistance. These circumstances have ensured a search for alternative strategies to modulate gut development and health in poultry.
Strategies to modulate gut health in antibiotic-free poultry production
Feed quality
Optimum nutrient digestion and absorption depends on high quality feed ingredients.
Feed particle size is very important for gizzard development. A well-developed gizzard is essential to enhance grinding activity, leading to not only increased gut motility and greater digestion of nutrients, but also to greater reduction in particle size entering the small intestine, ultimately increasing the accessibility of the feed to digestive enzymes. Poor pellet quality and excess fine particles can reduce gizzard function which can increase the incidence of feed passage (undigested feed in the animal’s waste) and dysbacteriosis or microbial imbalance.
High levels of antinutritional factors in the feed could lead to poor digestibility, resulting in more undigested protein in the intestinal lumen. The presence of undigested protein in the lumen favors the proliferation of pathogenic bacteria, such as Clostridium perfringens. Supplementing the diet with good quality exogenous protease enzyme has been shown to considerably improve protein digestibility.
High concentrations of trypsin inhibitors in diets have a negative effect on nutrient digestibility and gut health. Trypsin inhibitors are directly correlated with rapid feed passage and dysbacteriosis. Thermal processing of soybean meal is critical because negative effects from undercooked and overcooked soybean meal on digestion have been cited. Undercooked soybean meal has higher concentrations of trypsin inhibitors whereas overcooking decreases digestibility of the proteins. Inclusion of a good quality protease in the diet can reduce the impact of trypsin inhibitors on digestion.
Coarser particle size of soybean meal, close to 700-900 µm, favors higher digestion of soybean protein and minimizes the negative effects of antitrypsin factors.
A high content of soluble non-starch polysaccharides (NSPs) in the feed can increase viscosity in the gut, decreasing the passage rate of feed in the stomach (digesta). This leads to decreased absorption of digesta and increased incidence of wet droppings. The addition of an exogenous NSP enzyme in feed can considerably decrease NSP levels and reduce the risk of bacterial enteritis.
Mycotoxins can alter the normal gut functions, such as barrier function and nutrient absorption. Where feed storage is concerned, control measures need to be implemented to minimize grain damage and conditions that could increase mold and insect spoilage. Adding a broad-spectrum mycotoxin binder to the diet can reduce the adverse effect of mycotoxins on poultry health.
Rancid oils and fats should be rejected since they have been shown as a path to enteric diseases. Proper storage conditions in tanks and transportation lines should be evaluated frequently to control rancidity development within the feed mill. Additionally, the use of antioxidants in feed can reduce oxidation and thereby reduce rancidity.
Certain feed ingredients and additives have been shown to modulate gut microbiota and the immune system in poultry. Those dietary factors should be considered when formulating broiler diets (Figs 1 & 2). Several classes of feed additives have been proposed and evaluated in poultry preproduction, including organic acids, essential oils, probiotics, prebiotics, enzymes, and trace minerals. These feed supplements are used as an alternative to antibiotic growth promoters to modulate gut microbiota and enhance gut integrity for better growth, feed efficiency and improved bird health (Fig 2).
Fig.1 The vicious cycle of poor gut healthFig.2 Nutritional strategies to improve gut health in antibiotic free production
Water quality
Water is the most important nutrient for poultry and is involved in every physiological process of a bird. Water is also a medium that can transport bacterial, viral and protozoan infections in poultry houses. Unfortunately, the importance of water quality is usually overlooked. Water quality is essential for proper digestion, so its physicochemical characteristics should be measured, controlled and improved on the farm.
The water’s pH is an important factor that can influence microbial populations in water and in the animal’s gut, thus maintaining microbiota balance in the lumen environment. The ideal water pH for poultry should be between 5 and 7, because alkaline pH (that above 7) is shown to reduce the activity of digestive enzymes. Studies show that birds can tolerate a low pH of 3.5. Drinking water with carbonates and other salts that increase the alkalinity and hardness can cause problems. Hardness and alkaline pH of water create an environment for biofilm and endotoxins to thrive in the water tank, pipeline, and drinker due to the proliferation of algae and microbes.
Conclusion
To better optimize poultry digestibility and performance in antibiotic-free production, there is a need to develop cost effective alternative strategies that manipulate gut microbiota. Several feed additives including organic acids, essential oils, probiotics, prebiotics, exogenous enzymes, and trace minerals have been successfully used for better gut health and efficient production performance in poultry. Combinations of these various alternatives with proper farm management and biosecurity measures are the key to maximizing poultry performance in this antibiotic free era.
References available upon request.
This article has been originally published by FeedNavigator.com, for more details contact : reena.rani@novusint.com
Due to covid restrictions around the world, IDMA AND VICTAM 2021 event for May 27-29, 2021 has now been postponed and will be now be rescheduled. The new dates are yet to be announced.
Official Announcement:
Dear IDMA AND VICTAM 2021 Exhibitors and Visitors,
Due to covid restrictions around the world, with regret, we would like to inform you that the IDMA AND VICTAM 2021 event for May 27-29, 2021 has been postponed and will be rescheduled.
The decision to postpone the event was requested by our valuable associations that support IDMA AND VICTAM, exhibitors and visitors.
We will inform you with new dates as soon as possible. However, we would like to thank our business partners, associations, exhibitors and visitors for their support and cooperation in this challenging time. We believe that in the upcoming days, the circumstances for such events will be more fruitful and productive for our participants.
We trust that we will overcome the challenges of this pandemic situation together. Your health and safety is our priorty and in this regard we would like to emphasize that our decision to reschedule the fair is to have a successful fair in the future. We thank you for your support and understanding.
IDMA AND VICTAM TEAM
Sebas van den Ende
General Manager
VICTAM Corporation
Synopsis: The article suggests how essential oils possess natural antimicrobial properties and can be adopted in disinfection activities, without possessing any negative and toxic side effects.
For poultry flock owners, disease prevention is essential. Basic disease prevention rules in a poultry operation, regardless of size, are:
Adopt proper biosecurity plan or strategy
Provide a balanced diet in each stage of bird’s life and fresh clean water to reduce stress.
Practice good management with an all-in-all-out replacement program.
Provide a good disinfection program
Disinfection: Prerequisite for effective biosecurity plan
The risk posed by disease inflicting organisms may be a constant challenge for birds. Instead of trusting visual cleanliness, using effective management measures effectively combats this challenge. A surface that appears clean isn’t essentially disease-free, therefore could also be a failure to the bird’s management program.
Hygiene and disinfection play a major role in any effective disease control program for poultry production premises as they provide a safe pathogen-free environment with low microbial load to avoid disease conditions in farms, sheds, poultry houses, hatcheries, animal barns, machinery, feeders & drinkers, and working surfaces. Cleaning refers to the physical act of removing organic matter and solid debris (dirt, grease, feces, body fluids, etc.) and must always precede disinfection. It increases penetration and guarantees high-quality disinfection.
How proper disinfection can be achieved???
Proper planning should be paramount step: Any good poultry house cleaning a1nd disinfection program should start with a plan, detailed date and time, along with the labor and equipment needed, should be established prior to disinfection activity.
Control insects and pest: Wearing appropriate protective equipment, the poultry house interior should be sprayed with a locally recommended insecticide as soon as the flock is removed and while the house is still warm. A second treatment with insecticide should be completed before fumigation.
Dust that harbors pathogens should be removed: Dust and cobwebs should be from interior surfaces and equipment.
Pre-spray : Again, wearing appropriate protective equipment, detergent solution should be spayed throughout the broiler house interior to dampen any remaining dust. In open-sided poultry houses, the curtains should be closed first.
All equipment should be removed from the house and raise automatic feeders and drinkers.
Remove and dispose of litter: Litter must be removed to a distance of at least 3.2 km (2 miles) and disposed of in accordance with government regulations.
Wash and clean house thoroughly: Use a pressure washer with a foam detergent. Ensure the detergent is compatible with the disinfectant to be used. Rinse with hot water.
Choosing the right disinfectant plays a vital role
A disinfectant’s effectiveness at destroying varied pathogens depends on its chemical composition, it’s mode of action and type of organism.
Now, the next question that arises is what characteristics should an effective disinfectant possess? For choosing right disinfectant one must consider it’s:
Efficacy
Cost
Residual activity
Activity with organic matter present
Solubility
Contact time
Toxicity
Effects on fabrics and metal surfaces
Temperature
Activity with soap
Cons of chemical disinfectants
Disinfection is important for clearing or transferring microorganisms, furthermore, acting as a barrier to microorganism’s transmission from animals to humans or contrariwise. Chemical disinfectants, on the opposite hand, considering their multifarious role and activity, have their own set of limitations. Alcohol, Cl compounds, formaldehydes, and different chemicals might irritate the skin and cause allergic eczema. They are sometimes poisonous, corrosive, form residue and are incompatible with plastic or steel feeding troughs. What is more, the application of chemical disinfectants in indiscriminate and unmonitored manner might lead to the unfold of microorganism resistance amongst environmental contaminants.
Why call for natural disinfection???
Comparison Table: Synthetic/ Chemical versus Natural
Given the drawbacks of disinfection with chemicals, a study was planned to assess the potential of an herbal disinfection that is equally effective as chemical agents but is fully safe to use, offers long-term disinfection, and is completely environmentally friendly due to its biodegradable nature.
Material and Methods
The present study was undertaken to evaluate the disinfection potential of a herbal biodegradable disinfectant. The environmental contaminants were exposed to NBD-99 to assess its effectiveness. Proper SOP was followed in order to test the antimicrobial action of the combination of essential oil, the disinfectant efficacy test. The subculture of Streptococcus, Enterococcus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Vibrio, Bacillus subtilis and Aspergillus were taken from stalk culture on media plates and challenged with the herbal disinfectant. The tests were performed as per guidelines of USP-37. The incubation temperature used 30-35◦C for bacterial cultures for 24 hours and 20-25◦C for 48 hours for fungal cultures.
Results and Discussion
The efficacy of green disinfectant against bacterial and fungal cultures is shown in Table 1. By using a green disinfectant there is >99% reduction in bacterial colonies of Streptococcus, Enterococcus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Vibrio & Bacillus subtilis while significant reduction of about >98% is observed against Aspergillus.
Table 1: Efficacy of Green disinfectant against Bacterial and Fungal cultures
The constituents of green disinfectant such as Thyme, Pine and Eucalyptus oils are known for their antimicrobial effects (Tariq S et al., 2019; Dhakad AK et al.,2018; Chouhan S et al.,2017; Bachir and Benali,2012). Infact, in vitro disinfectant activity of essential oils against broad range of microbial, fungal, and viral species has been well studied and demonstrated (Cáceres, M et al.,2020; Brochot, A et al., 2017; Prabuseenivasan S et al.,2006.)
The antimicrobial activity of disinfectants can be attributed to its power of growth inhibition. The effectiveness of this essential oil-based disinfectant can be attributed to the actives present in essential oils which acted synergistically to destabilize the cell membrane, increased cell permeability as well as inhibited bacterial cell division (de Aguiar et al.2018; Swamy et al.,2016; Nazzaro et al., 2013; Celikel and Kavas, 2008; Martinez & Baquero,2000).
Swamy et al., (2016) specified the mode of action and mentioned that essential oils disrupt the cell membrane of the targeted pathogens by increasing membrane permeability, inducing leakage of vital intracellular constituents, and interrupting the cellular metabolism and enzyme kinetics of the targeted pathogens.
An acceptable activity of essential oils against gram‐positive and gram‐negative bacteria has been observed by de Aguiar et al. (2018).
The antifungal effect of the liquid disinfectant may be justified by the action of its actives, which inhibited fungal growth and spore formation and destabilized the cell organelle causing cell lysis (Tariq S et al.,2019). The antiviral effect of the disinfectant may be due to of inhibition of viral protein translation as well. Bansod and Rai (2008) in their study justified the use of mixed essential oils in case of mycotic infections. Similarly, disinfecting activity of the tea tree essential oil showed effective inactivation of captured fungal and bacterial aerosol on the filter surface (Huang et al. 2010; Pyankov et al. 2008). In yet another study, Pyankov et al., (2012) concluded that essential oils could be successfully used as effective disinfectant in bio-aerosol filtration applications.
The green disinfectant results may be correlated to the findings of Hendry et al., (2012) who demonstrated that essential oil formulations possess antimicrobial efficacy for potential disinfection and elimination of microbial biofilms from hard surfaces. They further suggested that, essential oils may be a useful adjunct to current infection control strategies. Besides this, according to a recent research result, the disinfectant spray made of the α-Terpineol effected the skin for 1 minutes could kill 99.996% Staphylococcus aureus, 99.998% Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 100% Escherichia coli and 100% Candida albicans. Exposure of same spray for 2 minutes on the skin could kill the 98.46% bacteria. (Center, B., & Cleaning, P. 2020).
Conclusion
Novel concept of green disinfection, using essential oil-based disinfectant has a great potential in the field of decontaminants and can be potential product to enhance biosecurity procedures. The green disinfectant is the ecofriendly alternative approach, which is non-toxic, non-corrosive and readily usable on nonporous hard surfaces as well as farm organic material. It not only has broad spectrum antimicrobial activity but also has anti-stress activity.
References
1) Cáceres, M., Hidalgo, W., Stashenko, E., Torres, R., & Ortiz, C. (2020). Essential Oils of Aromatic Plants with Antibacterial, Anti-Biofilm and Anti-Quorum Sensing Activities against Pathogenic Bacteria. Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland), 9(4), 147.
2) Bachir RG, and Benali M. (2012) Antibacterial activity of the essential oils from the leaves of Eucalyptus globulus against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Asian Pac J Trop Biomed.2(9):739‐742. doi:10.1016/S2221-1691(12)60220-2
3) de Aguiar, F. C., Solarte, A. L., Tarradas, C., Luque, I., Maldonado, A., Galán-Relaño, Á., & Huerta, B. (2018). Antimicrobial activity of selected essential oils against Streptococcus suis isolated from pigs. MicrobiologyOpen, 7(6), e00613. https://doi.org/10.1002/mbo3.613
4) Martinez, J. L., & Baquero, F. (2000). Mutation frequencies and antibiotic resistance. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 44, 1771–1777. 10.1128/AAC.44.7.1771-1777.2000
5) Prabuseenivasan, S., Jayakumar, M., & Ignacimuthu, S. (2006). In vitro antibacterial activity of some plant essential oils. BMC complementary and alternative medicine, 6, 39. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6882-6-39
6) Pyankov, O. V., Pyankova, O. and Agranovski, I. E. (2012). Inactivation of Airborne Influenza Virus in the Ambient Air. J. Aerosol. Sci., 53: 21–28.
7) Tariq S, Wani S, Rasool W, et al. (2019) A comprehensive review of the antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral potential of essential oils and their chemical constituents against drug-resistant microbial pathogens. Microb Pathog.134:103580.
Synopsis: Covenants are part of any contract including employment contract. They are aimed to safeguard the strategic assets of the organization. Though covenants are common in employment contracts, only a fraction of companies are able to enforce them or initiate legal action in case of a breach. This article speaks about types of covenants in employment contract and what measures could companies take so that they could enforce.
Recently I came across a client who was insisting on a bond to be signed by new joinees which required them to serve for min 3 years from joining else pay six months salary. This too came as a surprise to the candidates and me. Several candidates backed off and hiring was made more difficult. This made me think about the usefulness of these covenants in employee contracts. Would like to address the issues as to how to manage them and make use of them in a most constructive manner.
What are covenants
Covenants are written promises between two parties that requires them to adhere to some commitments . They are widely used not only in employee contracts but also in financial industry, Mergers, acquisitions etc. Focus of this article would be on the covenants in employee contracts. These covenants are of two types. They are.
Affirmative covenants – They require the employee to do something and mostly apply to the period they are in service with the company. An example is requiring the employee to serve the organization for a minimum period and pay a sum in case of breach
Negative or Restrictive covenants – They are just the opposite of affirmative covenants where they require the employee not to do something. They may apply during the period of employment or for specific duration even after the employment. Example is a non-compete agreement
One of the primary objectives of these covenants is to safeguard the business interest of the organization and larger interests of the stake holders (including employees). For instance, every organization invests lot of time and resources in hiring, training and developing employees and for them to achieve a reasonable return on investment, the employee may need to work for a minimum duration. Every organization has key trade secrets, information like clients list, pricing which could cause significant disruption if it is leaked to a competitor. There can be little doubt that these covenants are indeed required. Question is are they serving the purpose? Are they being utilized to fullest? Are there some other ways that could help organizations manage risks?
What is the Problem?
I am not a lawyer and am not planning to go in depth into of legality of these covenants. In my experience I have found issues in two areas;
The content. How is it worded. Is it reasonable so that it serves the purpose?
The Intent. Is it implemented in letter and spirit?
On the content, several organizations believe that if they make it more stringent, the safer they are. But the biggest test for any covenant is it must be fair and reasonable. It should not be curtailing the constitutional freedom of the employee. For instance, in the above cited example of a retention clause of 3 years else 6 months’ salary to be paid by the employee, would the organization be able to substantiate that indeed they invested so much on this employee on his/her development? What is the rationale for a 3-year period? Similarly, some organizations bar employees from taking up any job with competitors upto 5 years from the date of leaving their current employment. Is this not curtailing the right of the employee to pursue any legal profession of his/her choice? The issue with writing this type of contract is it makes it impossible to enforce. Once you are unable to enforce it becomes just a piece of paper.
Coming to the intent, it is an irony that organizations having a strong non-compete agreements tend to hire talents from their competitors who too have similar non-compete covenants. Does it mean these rules apply only to those employees who choose to pursue their career elsewhere? If an employee who is leaving is barred from taking up any position with any other organization in the same industry for a specified period, are there provisions for adequate compensation for the employee so that they could sustain their livelihood. On several occasions, organizations go after an ex-employee citing confidentiality agreement simply to cause embarrassment to them. They need to carefully define what type of information is confidential. Often, we fail to recognize that most of these so-called confidential data is already available to others just like how we get “market intelligence ” about other organizations. When a senior leader leaves an organization, it is not uncommon to see his team too joining the newer organization with him and they create an alumni group. All these actions spell out our intentions on how we approach these covenants that makes them just another sheet of signed document.
What could we do?
Based on my experience, I would suggest few measures that could make these covenants enforceable.
Make them fair and reasonable. Don’t be too harsh or unrealistic
Train and communicate – Please take time to train your employees on these covenants and preferably with relevant examples. When there is a revision, they should be informed in advance and their consent obtained. Consider periodic re training to help in retention
Set example – The senior management team has the responsibility of leading by example. If you insist on non-compete, non-solicitation please hire from your competitors only after ensuring that those recruits are not in breach of those agreements that they have signed. If you insist on current employees serving the entire notice period, do not hire new recruits by offering to buy out their notice period
Initiate firm and decisive action in all deserving cases. It takes significant time and resources in initiating corrective action on erring employees. You may need to commit these resources to take the case to its logical end. Else it will lose its seriousness.
Engage your employees – Listen to your employees and learn to manage their aspirations. Any employee looks for opportunities outside the organization only when he/she believes such an opportunity does not exist in the current organization.
Hire smart – Look for motivational fit and cultural fit apart from job fit. You need to make it attractive for applicants to join you despite having these covenants. This requires you to build your brand in the market.
Manage your confidential information by obtaining patents, trade marks, copy right. Provide access only those who require it and have robust IT security infrastructure.
Vision and Values matter – Please live your values every day. Celebrate instances where you see someone has set an example. Institutionalize these values by sharing with all employees with real life employees. Like how you reward them for performance, reward them for living values.
Conclusion – A mere agreement might not be sufficient, and it must be ring-fenced with factors like being fair, transparent communication, leading by example and being assertive when needed. You can’t be assured of employee retention just because your employees have signed an agreement to serve for x number of years. I am reminded of a saying by the great Persian Poet Rumi which goes like this ” Everything that is made beautiful and fair and lovely is made for the eye of one who sees”, apt summary.
Please let me know what you think about this issue by writing to me at npattabiraman@gmail.com.
About the author:
Mr. Pattabiraman Nagarajan is a HR professional, Consultant, trainer and an ICF certified coach. Has managed organization change and aligned HR practices to ensure business growth. He holds master degree in Social work and a PG diploma in Business management from IIM Trichy. He could be reached at npattabiraman@relyonus.in.
properties and can be adopted in disinfection activities, without possessing any negative and toxic side effects.
surprise to the candidates and me. Several candidates backed off and hiring was made more difficult. This made me think about the usefulness of these covenants in employee contracts. Would like to address the issues as to how to manage them and make use of them in a most constructive manner.
