One of the ways we can improve the sustainability of poultry feed is to get the most out of the feed and birds. The ultimate goal is to increase feed intake and ensure that as much of the nutrients as possible are obtained from it in order to maximise performance and increase sustainability. Feed additives such as enzymes can assist in enabling the bird to extract the most nutrients from feed, whilst mycotoxin binders allow more of the crop to be safely used in feed.

There are many different types of enzyme used in poultry feeds with the aim of increasing the digestibility of the feed and increasing its nutritive value. They also enable nutritionists to use raw materials which would normally be unsuitable for poultry due to anti-nutritive factors such as non-starch polysaccharide (NSP) and phytate. The addition of NSP enzymes to the feed enables the breakdown of complex carbohydrate molecules into simpler ones which the endogenous enzymes can then act on to realise a more complete digestion. The addition of phytate enzymes act on the phytate molecule which is the major phosphorus storage compound found in plants. Phytase added to the feed releases more of the unavailable phosphorus, decreasing reliance on added inorganic phosphates. Both NSPs and phytases enable other trapped nutrients to also be released and become available to the animal. With the addition of Optimise to the feed, providing NSP enzymes and phytase, more nutrients can be made available to the bird and feed conversion can be significantly improved.

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by moulds and they are some of the most toxic compounds known to man. There are six that are commonly looked for and have been widely researched: Aflatoxin B1, Fumonisin, Ochratoxin A, Deoxynivalenol, Zearalenone and T-2. They are found in varying levels in many crops especially after a bad growing year where mould levels were high in the standing crop. At low levels they reduce productivity, but at high levels can cause serious production issues and death. Their development can be minimised with the use of products such as Moldgard. Where mycotoxins may be present in crops they can be routinely controlled by the inclusion of mycotoxin binders in the feed. Thus allowing the use of crops which otherwise may have been classed as too high risk for animal feed. Mycotoxin binders such as Ultrabond, bind with or to the toxin irreversibly and are excreted from the body without being absorbed, reducing productivity losses.

The use of Optivite enzymes (Optimise), mould inhibitors (Moldgard) and mycotoxin binders (Ultrabond) improve sustainability of poultry production through increasing the nutrient availability from raw materials and enable a wider range of raw materials to be used in poultry feed.