Tackling the future challenges of Organic Animal Husbandry - vTI

RAHMANN G & GODINHO D (Ed.) (2012): Tackling the Future Challenges of Organic Animal Husbandry.
Proceedings of the 2 nd OAHC, Hamburg/Trenthorst, Germany, Sep 12-14, 2012
oocysts markedly suppressed OE in the early phase of disease (from 0 to 7 weeks). Dried leaves of
Artemisia annua, supplemented at 3% of the dietary inclusion from day one of pullet’s life, limited
the weight gain and feed conversion rate for the initial and total growing periods under investigation.
These results agree with our previous findings where dried leaves of A. annua decreased feed
intake and growth rates for slow growing broilers (Almeida et al., 2012). However, in our previous
study, the botanical supplementation resulted in a lower OE in broilers consuming A. annua for two
weeks before coccidia challenge, thus using a prophylactic strategy in close agreement with Allen et
al. (1997). The strategy of supplementing A. annua at two different stages in the current study was
an attempt to follow a similar perspective. Nevertheless, in both cases, pullets were challenged before
a reasonable period of plant consumption what may have lead to the failure of suppressing OE.
The implications of these findings highlight the necessity of targeting strategies for delivering food
supplements to reduce severity of coccidiosis without compromising feed intake. At the same time,
our results highlighted that management is extremely important during early life of pullets to avoid
high level of exposure to parasites that may compromise health status of animals and flocks thus
compromising income of small scale farmers.
Suggestions to tackle the future challenges of organic animal husbandry
Supplementation of 3% cassava dried leaves in the first period of pullet’s life may form part of a
strategy to alleviate the effects of coccidiosis in small scale production systems. In addition to the
supplementation of botanical coccidiostats - like cassava dried leaves as a sustainable component in
the control of coccidia in developing countries - our results indicated that the rearing period demands
special attention in small scale poultry systems. As an example simple prophylactic
measures (like cleaning and using brush fire to kill survival oocysts from previous flocks) may be
suggested as a first strategy to reduce infection and thus poultry mortality supporting food security
for small scale families.
References
Abbas, RZ, Colwell, DD & Gilleard, J 2012. Botanicals: an alternative approach for the control of avian
coccidiosis. World´s Poultry Science Journal 68, 203-215.
Allen, PC, Lydon, J & Danforth, HD 1997. Effects of components of Artemisia annua on coccidia infections
in chickens. Poultry Science 76, 1156-1163.
Almeida, GFd, Horsted, K, Thamsborg, SM, Kyvsgaard, NC, Ferreira, JFS & Hermansen, JE 2012. Use of
Artemisia annua as a natural coccidiostat in free-range broilers and its effects on infection dynamics and
performance. Veterinary Parasitology 186, 178-187.
Brazil, 2003. Federal Law n. 10.831. Organic agriculture and sets other provisions. Available in English at:
http://www.prefiraorganicos.com.br/media/45792/lei_10.831_ingles.pdf. Access Jan 2012.
Roepstorff, A, Nansen, P 1997. The epidemiology, diagnosis and control of helminth parasites of swine. A
FAO Handbook, FAO, Rome, Italy.
Peek, HW & Landman, WJM 2003. Resistance to anticoccidial drugs of Dutch avian Eimeria spp. Field isolates
originating from 1996, 1999 and 2001. Avian Pathology 32, 391-401.
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