The incredible edible egg: dried egg product improves broiler growth performance and supplements cocci vaccines in Eimeria and necrotic enteritis challenged birds

Authors: PRADYUT, PAUL - Optum Immunity An Operating Company Of Abe Discovery, Llc; Shanmugasundaram, Revathi; LIVINGSTON, KIMBERLY - Optum Immunity An Operating Company Of Abe Discovery, Llc

Submitted to: Poultry Science Association Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/21/2022
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: n/a

Technical Abstract: Eggs are nutritionally complete with easily digestible nutrients and immunomodulating proteins. Coccidiosis is a prevalent disease that plagues the poultry industry. Conventionally it is managed by ionophores, but consumer pressures arising from potential concerns of residue in poultry products necessitate a search for alternatives. One such alternative is Eimeria vaccine. Although vaccines provide adequate protection against Eimeria, it often comes at the cost of early growth performance and can lead to secondary infections resulting in necrotic enteritis (NE). We performed 2 studies to determine if dried egg product (DEP) improves broiler performance after administration of a cocci vaccine at day of hatch (EXP1) and reduce the incidence of secondary infections that lead to NE (EXP2). In EXP1, 4 treatments were utilized to determine if DEP improves growth performance after a cocci vaccine given at hatch and an Eimeria maxima challenge at 10D. This resulted in a 2x2 factorial arrangement with 1. Non-vaccinated, challenged control (CON), 2. Vaccinated, challenged (VAC), 3. DEP fed to 28D, challenged (DEP), 4. Vaccinated +DEP fed to 28D, challenged (V+D) with 16 replicates/treatment and 20 animals/pen reared to 42 days of age on used litter. In EXP2, the same treatments were utilized, but chicks were challenged with Clostridium perfringens (CP) at 15, 16, and 17D. There were 10 replicates/treatment and 50 birds/pen. At 17D, 4 birds were euthanized, lesion scores were evaluated, and cecal tonsils were collected to evaluate cytokine mRNA expression. Performance was analyzed as a 2-way ANOVA in SAS®. 14D body weight (BW) and average daily gain (ADG) was improved in DEP supplemented chicks regardless of VAC (P=0.01). No other performance parameters were impacted by the treatments. Final BW (P<0.001) and overall feed conversion ratio (FCR) (P=0.04) was negatively impacted by VAC in EXP2. Yet, DEP birds had greater final BW regardless of VAC (P<0.001) and improved FCR when provided DEP along with VAC (P<0.001). Lesion scores were more prominent in VAC chicks (P<0.001), which DEP reduced (P<0.001). IFN' and IL-10 expression was upregulated in VAC chicks (P<0.01). DEP brought both cytokines to near normal expression levels. In summary, DEP counteracts the negative impacts of VAC on broiler performance and reduces susceptibility to NE by promoting inflammatory homeostasis.