Poultry gut health

Antibiotics at sub-therapeutic doses have been added to poultry diets as growth promoters for many years. However, the overuse of antibiotics as feed additives have played a major role in the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The hunt has long been on for alternatives.

With the reemergence of poultry diseases such as necrotic enteritis following the restriction of in-feed antibiotics, the need for alternatives to such drugs is of critical importance.

A new field of research is emerging as researchers look to replace antibiotics in poultry diets - postbiotics. These are products that are in general produced by beneficial gut microbes that have positive effects on the host or microbiota.

Our speaker, Mike Kogut, who is based at the USDA ARS, says postbiotics could be a viable alternative to antibiotics to improve poultry health in the context of a C. perfringens pathogen challenge.

The webinar will also evaluate supplements aimed at ensuring poultry gut integrity.