Are Your Birds Reaching Their Full Genetic Potential?

Broilers experience various stressors every day in production. When a stressor is encountered, the neurogenic system is activated.1 Failure to combat or flee from the stressor immediately results in the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal cortical system.1 Activation of this system leads to the proliferation of adrenal cortical tissue, which in turn secretes corticosteroid which can have a negative impact on broiler growth.2,3  Chromium has been shown to reduce the levels of corticosteroids in birds, alleviating the negative impacts of stress and improving performance.^{4, 5, 6}

Chromium supplementation has been shown to decrease the levels of corticosterone in the blood, thereby alleviating the negative effects of stress on growth and performance to allow the bird to reach its full genetic potential.^7-10

Four separate university studies utilizing different genetic strains of birds, ages, body weights and environmental stressors (e.g. heat stress, vaccinations, etc.) demonstrated that the addition of chromium propionate in feed resulted in consistent improvements in adjusted feed conversion ratio (FCR), mortality and breast meat yield (Table 1). These university results coincide with the results seen in field evaluations with chromium propionate supplementation.

The results of both university and field evaluations demonstrate that KemTRACE Chromium is a highly bioavailable source of chromium that minimizes the impacts of stress, thus improving both performance and processing parameters.¹¹

Table 1. Summary of key performance parameters for various strains, weights and ages of broilers from university pen trials. 

*Compared to control. ND - No difference from control.
**Adjusted for weights and FCR.

Study 1: Vignale, K., D. Koltes, J.Weil, S. West, S. Weimer, V. Iseri, K. Christensen. 2017. The effect of chromium propionate on performance responses in heat stressed male broiler chickens. 2017 International Poultry Scientific Forum. Atlanta, GA. Abstract T181, page 53.
Study 2: Lester, T., K. Brown, C. Eagleson, V. Iseri, J. Lee. 2017. Evaluation of chromium propionate on broiler growth performance and processing yields. Journal of Poultry Science 96 (E-suppl. 1): 188.
Study 3: The effect of a source of KemTRACE Chromium on performance responses and carcass yield in broiler chickens, TD-18-00003.
Study 4: Lester, T., K. Brown, K. Vignale, C. Alvarado, J. Lee. 2018. Evaluation of chromium propionate and a butyric acid complex on male growth performance, corticosterone level and meat yield. 2018 International Poultry Scientific Forum. Atlanta, Georgia. Abstract M86, pg. 26.

References

¹Siegel, H. S. (1980). Physiological stress in birds. Bioscience 30:529–534.
²Holmes, W. N., and J. G. Phillips (1976). The adrenal cortex of birds. Pages 293–420 in General, Comparative and Clinical Endocrinology of the Adrenal Cortex. I. Chester Jones and I. W. Henderson, ed. Academic Press, New York, NY.
³Dupont J., M. Derouet, J. Simon and M. Taouis (1999). Corticosterone alters insulin signaling in chicken muscle and liver at different steps. Journal of Endocrinology 162, 67-76.
⁴Mirfendereski E. and R. Jahanian (2015). Effects of dietary organic chromium and vitamin C supplementation on performance, immune responses, blood metabolites, and stress status of laying hens subjected to high stocking density. Poultry Science 94: 281-288.
⁵Vignale, K, Koltes D., Weil J., West S., Weimer S.L., Iseri V. and Christensen K.D (2017). The effect of chromium propionate on performance responses in heat stressed male broiler chickens. 2017 International Poultry Scientific Forum. Atlanta, GA. Abstract T181, page 53.
⁶Lester, T., K. Brown, C. Eagleson, V. Iseri, J. Lee. 2017. Evaluation of chromium propionate on broiler growth performance and processing yields. Journal of Poultry Science 96 (E-suppl. 1): 188.
⁷Puvadolpirod S., J. P. Thaxton. 2000. Model of physiological stress in chickens 1. Response parameters. Poult. Sci. 79:363-369.
⁸Alejandro, C.-I., et al. 2014. Environmental Stress Effect on Animal Reproduction. Open Journal of Animal Sciences, 4, 79-84.
⁹Miller, D.B., et al. 2002. Neuroendocrine Aspects of the Response to Stress. Metabolism. Vol 51:5-10.
¹⁰Mirfendereski, E., R. Jahanian. 2015. Effects of dietary organic chromium and vitamin C supplementation on performance, immune responses, blood metabolites, and stress status of laying hens subjected to high stocking density. Poultry Science 94:281–288.
¹¹Lester, T., K. Brown, C. Eagleson, V. Iseri, J. Lee. 2017. Evaluation of chromium propionate on broiler growth performance and processing yields. Journal of Poultry Science 96 (E-suppl. 1): 188.