Dr. Edgar Oviedo collaborator and co corresponding author for nutriNews International had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Ana Isabel García Ruiz Director of the Trouw Nutrition Poultry Research Center in Toledo Spain, and Dr. Wilfredo Mansilla
Dr. Edgar Oviedo: We are here at the 7th EAAP International Symposium on Energy and Protein Metabolism and Nutrition (ISEP 2022) with Dr. Ana Isabel García Ruiz Director of the Trouw Nutrition Poultry Research Center in Toledo Spain, and Dr. Wilfredo Mansilla a poultry researcher from this same center. Dr. Ana Isabel could you tell a little bit about the research that you are conducting right now at your center?
Dr. Ana Isabel: Thank you Edgar. Within our center, the main research areas are related to animal feed development. We work hard with laying hens and broilers, as well as having a strong focus on precision feeding where we are working on Nitrogen and Phosphorus efficiency for broilers and laying hens. However, in regards to laying hens we are mainly focused on layer persistency and egg shell quality which are big points of interest for our markets.
Dr. Edgar Oviedo: Wilfredo according to your presentation here at Isep, your work focuses on reducing crude protein while using crystalline amino acids to have a better balance. Could you tell us a little more about your research?
Dr. Wilfredo Mansilla: Sure Edgar, so this project focuses on improving nitrogen efficiency while reducing nitrogen excretion through a reduction in crude protein. Yet keeping a balance of essential amino acids and even non-essential amino acids like Glycine and Serine. In this study we found that we can reduce the crude protein content until the weight average crude protein value of the diet was 18.5% without affecting the performance of birds. In fact, we saw that it could even improve performance, as we saw an interesting result where feed intake was increased when we reduced crude protein content in the diet. On top of that we also focused on including Glycine and Serine in the diets of very young broilers where we saw that feed efficiency can be significantly improved when including Glycine, but only in very early stages. Then when the broiler grows the ingredients that naturally make up the diet have sufficient glycine levels to support their growth.
Dr. Edgar Oviedo: Thank you Wilfredo. I understand that you are carrying out some projects that not only look into nitrogen efficiency but you are also looking into phosphorus efficiency. Is that right? Could you slightly mention what are the perspectives on that project?
Dr. Wilfredo: In Trou nutrition we are really focused on precision nutrition and just like nitrogen, phosphorus (P) is a crucial pollutant derived from the broiler industry. Therefore, in the future we are considering focusing on phosphorus efficiency through the provision of adequate P amounts to broilers and using it with the highest efficiency that is possible in order to reduce phosphorus excretion into the environment.
Dr. Edgar: Finally, Ana Isabel, I understand that the “split feeding” concept was developed at your Research Center and that you have a lot of experience with it. Could you summarize some of the main benefits associated with this management practice.
Dr. Ana Isabel: For sure Edgar. As you said we have been working really hard on this concept already for many years and the main benefits that we have observed from “split feeding” is an improvement in egg shell quality, as well as in animal production. We have also significantly reduced the levels of calcium and phosphorus excretion into the environment, so we have a sustainability dossier behind this concept of “split feeding.” Therefore, it is a “win win” situation and very recently we have also patented the concept of “split feeding” in broiler breeders. So, now we have systems both for laying hens and for broiler breeders.
Dr. Edgar: Thank you, Ana and Wilfredo, we really appreciate your participation in this podcast. We hope we can have you back for future webinars and podcasts.
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