Dietary concoction of formic acid and thymol and its effects on zoo-technical performance, immunity, jejunal architecture and gut health in Turkey.

With increasing demand for improved protein-rich food, diverse poultry birds like turkey are gaining popularity in India. However, with the rising concerns of antibiotic residues and drug resistance, safe alternatives like formic acid (FA) and thymol (TH) have attracted the attention of researchers as effective replacer of antibiotic growth promoters (AGP). This experiment investigated the effects of combinations of FA and TH on growth performance, immunity, gut microflora and jejunal microstructures in turkey. A total of 240 turkey poults were reared in 6 treatment groups for a period of 16 weeks with standard management and feeding: T1 (basal diet only); T2 (AGP); T3 (FA@2.5 ml + TH@240 mg/kg); T4 (FA@2.5 ml + TH@360 mg/kg); T5 (FA@7.5 ml + TH@240 mg/kg) and T6 (FA@7.5 ml + TH@360 mg/kg). The results revealed that T5 group had the highest final body weight and best FCR while the feed consumption across the groups was comparable. The immune status of the turkey improved (p ≤ 0.05) in treatment groups compared to control with T4 and T5 group showcasing the best CBH response, antibody titres and relative immune organ weight index. A significant improvement (p ≤ 0.05) in jejunal microstructures was observed at 16th week in T5 group over control and AGP fed group. There was significant (p ≤ 0.001) reduction in total plate and coliform counts, but a positive shift was seen in Lactobacillus population in T5 group as compared to control and AGP fed group. In conclusion, the concoction of formic acid (7.5 ml/kg) + thymol (240 mg/kg) in-feed supplement improved the performance, immune status and gut health in turkey as an efficient alternative to AGPs.

The cage-free egg sector: perspectives of Indian poultry producers.

India is ranked as the 2nd largest egg producer in the world. Despite the prevalence of backyard poultry (free range), a majority of the commercial egg-laying hens in the country are still housed in battery cages. There is a global shift toward cage-free eggs, due to regulations and increased demand from conscious consumers and food corporations. However, there are very few commercial cage-free facilities in India to meet this demand. The aim of this study was to undertake a needs-assessment survey of Indian egg producers on cage-free production, and understand what support is needed to build the capacities of the cage-free egg production sector to develop it into a viable and sustainable alternative to battery cage eggs. The results showed that nearly all producers agreed on the need for additional support in shifting to, and operating in, the cage-free sector. This included support in the form of financial assistance, technical training, and promotion of the cage-free sector. The results of this study highlight the pressing need for government and private support, in the absence of which cage-free producers are compelled to compete with battery cage poultry producers on prices, which will result in increased losses and failure of the sector, since they have not yet achieved economies of scale.

Evaluation of in-feed supplementation of formic acid and thymol as non-antibiotic growth promoters and assessing their effect on antimicrobial resistant E.coli isolated in Turkey.

With the rampant usage of antibiotics as growth promoters (AGPs) in poultry sector, there has been alarming concerns of antimicrobial resistant microbes such as Escherichia coli. Diversification of poultry farming due to consumer demand for safer products with higher protein content, turkey production is gaining popularity. Feed additives such as formic acid (FA) and thymol (TH) are effectively replacing AGPs due to their antimicrobial action. This directed the researchers to find alternatives to antibiotics such as thymol and formic acid because of their strong antimicrobial, anti-oxidative, digestive-stimulating properties. To assess the efficacy of FA and TH as growth promoters and their effect on the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) load, the current study (0-12 weeks) was conducted in CARI VIRAT turkey poults (n = 256; unsexed) those were randomly distributed into eight treatment groups: control(T1), AGP (T2), graded levels of FA (T3 to T5) @ 2.5, 5 and 7.5 ml/kg and TH (T6 to T8) @ 120, 240 and 350 mg/kg. Cloacal swab samples were collected at 0, 4th, 8th and 12th week interval and processed further for isolation, identification and assessment of resistance profile of E. coli. The final body weight, cumulative gain and FCR were significantly (p < 0.05) better for birds under supplementation. The Total plate count (TPC) and coliforms showcased a significant (p < 0.001) reduction in the FA and TH supplement groups as compared to control and AGP group. The resistance profile indicated E. coli isolates from AGP group with significantly (p < 0.001) highest resistivity against antibiotics (viz. chloramphenicol, tetracycline, nalidixic acid, chlortetracycline) while isolates from FA (T5) and TH (T8) groups were the least resistant. blaAmpC gene was significantly (p < 0.001) harbored in T2 isolates whereas least detected in T5 and T8. It was inferred that formic acid (7.5 ml/kg) and thymol (360 mg/kg) can effectively replace AGPs and lower AMR burden in poultry.