Two field trials were conducted on commercial tom turkeys grown to 141 days, assessing key performance indices with the inclusion of Calibrin-Z®, a broad-spectrum biotoxin binder available in select international markets, in their diet from placement to harvest. The two trials were conducted in the barns of a large integrator. A key point to these trials is that the company indicated they were having no specific mycotoxin nor bacterial challenges and therefore this is a true test of how Amlan’s base mineral product can improve performance even under normal circumstances.
In the first trial, 26,391 poults were placed on the normal diets fed by the company and 26,422 poults were placed on that same diet with 2 lbs. of Calibrin-Z/short ton of feed added. Feeding Calibrin-Z improved each of the key performance indices (KPI’s) measured: weight gain, feed conversion, and livability. Feeding Calibrin-Z improved gain by 2.8% over the standard company diet at the target age of 141 days (Table 1). Often increased weight gain is a result of increased feed intake and there is no effect on feed conversion. However, in this experiment adding Calibrin-Z to the turkey feed decreased the amount of feed required per unit of gain. Feed conversion improved by 6 points when Calibrin-Z was fed compared to the feed conversion of the turkeys fed the standard diet when adjusted to a common 42 lb. body weight. Thus 2.52 lbs. less feed was needed to get each turkey to that 42 lb. body weight. Additionally, livability improved by 1.85% when Calibrin-Z was fed. Livability of the turkeys fed the diet containing Calibrin-Z was 85.47% versus 83.62% for the conventionally fed birds. The combination of additional weight and increased livability resulted in 58,800 more live pounds delivered to the processing plant.
Table 1. Results of the first trial comparing 141 day old tom turkeys fed a standard diet or a diet containing 2 Lbs./finished ton of Calibrin-Z.
A second trial was conducted to confirm the results seen in the first study. In the second study, 27,022 poults were placed on the standard diet and 27,024 poults were placed on the diet containing Calibrin-Z. Again, each KPI improved when Calibrin-Z was added to the diet. Gain improved by 2.6%, feed conversion improved by 3.6 points, and livability improved by 1.3 percentage units. Feeding Calibrin-Z to 27,024 turkeys in the second study resulted in 46,560 lbs. more live weight delivered to the plant at harvest.
Table 2. Results of the second trial comparing 141 day old tom turkeys fed a standard diet or a diet containing 2 lbs./finished ton of Calibrin-Z.
In an industry where even a small performance improvement has a big impact adding Calibrin-Z resulted in a high Return-On-Investment (Table 1). In the first experiment the ROI was 17:1 while in the second experiment ROI was 11:1.
Calibrin-Z is the foundation of Amlan International’s innovative value-adding feed additives for poultry and livestock and is sold in select international markets as a broad-spectrum biotoxin binder. As the animal health business of Oil-Dri® Corporation of America, Amlan products are backed by Oil-Dri’s 80-plus years of mineral science expertise. Additionally, vertical integration means Oil-Dri and Amlan own every step of the production process to deliver consistent high-quality animal health products around the world. To learn more about Calibrin-Z and our other mineral-based feed additives, visit amlan.com
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