Gut Health is Everything!

Gut health seems to be a buzz word these days. It is becoming more and more popular. I find it ironic that mainstream is finally figuring out. The most truthful statement that you will ever hear is this, the health of the gut (digestive tract) is the health of the chicken, person, or any living organism. All the way from the smallest bacteria living in the ground to the largest animal you can imagine. Problem I see, people do not really know what this means. Focus for many years was only on “Probiotics”. The term probiotic is fading out. The correct term is Direct Fed Microbials or DFM’s. Then marketing folks started using the term “Prebiotic”. Some talk about digestive enzymes. I do not know about you, but this can be confusing. Too much glitz and glitter to make you think, I need that! Well, do you? If you supplement too many things at one time or use wormer and antibiotics at the same time you can create a Gut Bomb! So, let’s dive into gut health a little more.

Let us unveil some facts you may have never heard before. What are the organism that live naturally and in balance in your chicken’s digestive tract? Hang on to hats, this could be mind blowing for some of you reading this. In a completely healthy and functioning poultry digestive tract you will find – parasite eggs and parasites, coccidiosis, E. coli bacteria, salmonella bacteria, clostridium bacteria, nematodes, lactobacillus bacteria, bacillus bacteria, Non-pathogenic Campylobacter and more.

There are millions of living organisms in the healthy chicken’s gut tract. If you do not believe me, look it up. I do not make this stuff up. All these different types of organism live there harmoniously and happily. Why or how? It is all about the balance, a little of this and a little of those. None of them get out of hand and cause a riot in a healthy gut. So, you have heard “Oh, these bacteria killed my chicken” or “I lost a bunch of chicks to coccidiosis”. Sure, this happens. Want to know why? Hostile take overs by bad bacteria or coccidiosis happen due to stress. Stress from sudden feed changes, a string of really bad weather, predator pressure, a new pet dog with you on the yard or many other things. Even worse, the stress of worming, giving antibiotics, or other treatments that you think are preventative. Key word in the last sentence is “Think”. That is the God’s honest truth!

I mentioned coccidiosis and worm eggs are normal in a chicken’s digestive tract. This is 100% true! If you take a manure sample to your vet for a fecal float examination or learn to do this yourself. It is easy to do. You should find between 40 – 60 coccidiosis oocyst(egg) and 40 – 60 parasite eggs in each gram of manure. Yes, that is correct, 40 – 60 oocyst and eggs per gram of manure is normal and safe. When I see a manure sample under 40 of either oocyst or parasite eggs, I am concerned that the bird is not healthy. There is some else going wrong in that digestive tract. If I see over 60 oocysts or eggs, then it is time to make a plan to manage it. This does not always mean a wormer or corid. It really means cleaning up the living environment where the bird is living. You can move them or treat the ground with something like lime or clean bedding. Zero eggs or oocyst is really bad! 100 eggs or oocyst per gram is really bad! Anything in between that range can be managed.

DFM’s a.k.a. probiotics at proper levels are great! The key word there is proper levels. More is not always better. Most high-end feeds already have DFM’s added. Low quality or cheap feeds will not have DFM’s added. They cost money, they are not cheap. Added DFM will contribute to about $.25 to $.50 per bag of feed depending on levels and strains. What names are you looking for when it comes to DFM’s? Look for lactobacillus, bacillus, enterococcus faecium, aspergillus niger fermentation, and pediococcus strains. You will hear claims about “Oh, my special strain, made only for our company, blah-blah-blah” stories. There are only a handful of companies making nutritional bacteria strains for the entire market. They just change the name and tell you it is different or special. It is your money. No need to waste it. Remember more probiotics is not always better. If you choose to use antibiotics and wormer, you very much need to re-seed the gut with beneficial DFM’s.

That is a great lead into wormers and antibiotics. Therapeutic or regularly scheduled use of wormers and antibiotics will cause stress. After using either of these you most definitely need to use a very good DFM product to get the gut going again and help the bird rebound. I do not think folks understand that when you use an antibiotic it wipes out the gut microbiome (the living organism). It causes a huge imbalance of bacteria in the gut. The proper time to use either of these is when you see illness, improper looking manure, birds are thinning and not holding weight, dull feathers, dull colored heads, or poor eye focus. Do not just jump for the needle. Observe the birds, see what is going on and then figure out why. Disease does not just magically appear from nowhere.

The best season to manage parasites is the month you start mowing your lawn and last month you mow your lawn. Parasite activity is at it is highest when soil temperatures are between 60 – 70 degrees. The parasite larvae do not like cold weather or extremely hot weather. Soil temperatures above 80 degrees or below 50 degrees have very little to no parasite activity. Below 40 degrees and above 90 degrees you are wasting money on wormer medications. Also keep in mind that the more you use wormers and antibiotics you are strengthening the parasites and bacteria you are trying to avoid. This is proven facts! Ivermectin is currently around 40% effective for parasite management. So, what do people do? Use more! Really?!

The bottom-line success to healthy gut health is pretty simple. Feed clean high-quality feed that is a combination of high-quality proteins and whole or cracked grains. You do not have a good feed without some oats! Always feed the proper size grit. Grit is the chickens’ teeth. Grit is required for the proper function of the gizzard. If you are not feeding grit, you are not feeding chicken correctly.