Feeding higher levels of copper and zinc in the diet, managing litter moisture and controlling coccidiosis are keys to stopping necrotic enteritis (NE) in poultry raised without antibiotics (RWA), Dan Moore, PhD, president, Colorado Quality Research, told Poultry Health Today.
“We're seeing a very consistent result with copper,” Moore said. Instead of the typical 8 to 10 parts per million inclusion level in the diet, they have used 250 to 275 parts per million in some studies.
The combination of copper and zinc in the feed, long used in the swine industry, has also yielded encouraging results in poultry for reducing the incidence of NE, he reported.
