With higher feed costs, it is important for poultry producers to get the most for their money.

At the recent International Poultry Expo/Feed Expo, Novus International was talking to producers about how to optimize their poultry diets. “Optimizing the diet does not necessarily mean having a cheap diet,” says Novus product manager Dr. Nasser Odetallah. “They have to make sure to meet the nutrient requirements of the individual animal and make sure they provide the nutrients needed for optimum growth.”

Since Novus has customers in over 90 countries, they deal with different producer needs depending on the region. “We know that somebody producing chicken in Bangledesh is not going to be faced with the same challenges as somebody in Utah,” he said. “So we have more than one option and we have certain feed additives that minimize the cost of the feed by reducing the energy of the diet and adding an enzyme that releases the energy in the feed.”

It’s also important for producers to optimize amino acids since different amino acids are commonly found in proteins and there are different requirements for poultry depending on the type (broiler or layer) and the age of the bird. Nassar says Novus shows producers how adding enzymes to feed, which is an increased cost up front, actually comes out cheaper in the end by optimizing feed conversion.

Listen to my interview with Nassar from the IPE here: