Why are electrolytes important for poultry farming?

According to Richard Bailey, head of applied physiology at Aviagen:

“Because birds don’t sweat, they lose heat in two ways. One is by panting, but they also vasodilate at their surface, which means they push blood to their skin to lose heat by radiation…” – Farmers Weekly

Whilst to most of us, this might seem like an academic fact with little practical relevance to our poultry profits, it actually presents a vital clue that leads us to understand the necessity for electrolyte supplementation in poultry farming.

The key is appreciating the knock on effects caused by the bird’s natrual limitation in physiology.

The diversion of blood resulting from vasodilation, leads to a poor supply of blood to the gut during times of heat stress. And this is a very real threat in densely packed poultry houses.

Poor blood supply to the gut results in poor nutritional absorption.

Couple this with increases flow of digestive substrate through the gut with an increased water intake during times of heat stress and this leads to even further loss of nutritional uptake (due to less contact time between digesting food and the gut).

And so, poultry phyisiology experts like Richard advise, supplementary electrolytes to be added to the poultry nutritional program. In effect to compensate for the loss of nutritional uptake.

Have you expereinced lack of nutritional uptake affecting your poultry farming productivity?

Have you experience using electrolyte supplements as a nutraceutical in your poultry nutritional program?

Comment below…