During periods of high heat, poultry face significant physiological stresses. Increased panting leads to losses of water and electrolytes, but also disrupts the body’s acid-base balance, particularly by promoting respiratory alkalosis, and metabolic acidosis, a dangerous condition for poultry that can rapidly lead to cardiac arrest and death.
Rehydration and management of heatstroke serve different purposes
A conventional rehydration solution is primarily designed to compensate for water and mineral losses by providing electrolytes and energy to support rehydration.
A specific ‘heat stress’ product, on the other hand, must go beyond this simple compensation. It forms part of an approach aimed at supporting poultry in heat stress, particularly to counteract the disturbances in electrolyte and acid-base balance associated with intense panting.
K.Cell is designed with this in mind.
Its formulation is based on a high concentration of electrolytes – selected and combined for their complementary properties and their ability to restore blood pH – as well as a supply of trace elements.
Periods of extreme heat therefore require a specific nutritional approach, the benefits of which have been assessed in trials under farm conditions.
Field trial : Control heat stress to maintain performances of broiler during heat wave periods with K.Cell + PRO-VIT C protocol
Context
The experimental study was carried out during the summer 2015, in a French broiler farm, two buildings (tunnel ventilation), of 1200 m² each with same density ( 20 chickens/m² of ROSS 308) and same age. A heat wave period with an outside temperature of 34°C is forecated for the following 4 days.
| Inside T° °C | Building control P1 | Building test P2 | |
| D32 | 36°C | Vit C 0,5j/l | K.Cell 2g/l (day time) + Vit C 0,5j/l (night) |
| D33 | 36°C | Vit C 0,5j/l | K.Cell 2g/l (day time) + Vit C 0,5j/l (night) |
| D34 | 36°C | K.Cell 2g/l (day time) + Vit C 0,5j/l (night) | K.Cell 2g/l (day time) + Vit C 0,5j/l (night) |
| D35 | 36°C | K.Cell 2g/l (day time) + Vit C 0,5j/l (night) | K.Cell 2g/l (day time) + Vit C 0,5j/l (night) |
Results
Observations and results
Behaviour : In the K.Cell building (P2), upon observation by the breeder, the chickens had a normal feed recovery and good behavior while in the control building P1, the chickens were exhausted from the 2nd day of the heatwave. The breeder decided to supplement broilers with K.CELL from D34 to limit morttality in the control building (P1).
Mortality : K.Cell significantly reduces cardiac mortality during heat stress. Vitamin C alone is not sufficient to reduce mortality during heat stress.
Growth : K.Cell optimizes broiler growth during periods of high heat.
K.Cell significantly helps reduce the impact of heat stoke in broiler leading to maintain high production performances (growth, low mortality).