Balance is crucial to the poultry microbiome – the community of microflora living in and on the bird. This community of bacteria has a complex impact on bird health and poultry performance.
 
The first step in maintaining the balance and addressing a poultry disease challenge is correct identification of the challenge. Different pathogens can cause similar-looking diseases, but the pathogens may not be the same and may not be susceptible to the same solutions.
 
Here’s how we use the Purina^® Microbiome Quotient^™ service to deliver customized solutions for the challenges your birds might face.

Investigating the poultry disease challenge

When you have a disease challenge on your operation, we begin with a careful investigation to narrow down the potential cause. We work with your veterinarian, nutritionist and production team to understand the potential factors that may contribute to the disease. Once we have developed a working understanding of the disease process, we create a targeted sampling protocol. We take samples from multiple sites from the birds or the poultry house.
 
Targeted sampling is necessary to accurately characterize the microbiome and disease process. As we have experienced, random or non-targeted sampling may provide an incomplete picture and could lead to a false understanding of the challenge.

Characterizing the poultry disease challenge 

Once the right samples are collected, the next step is thorough analysis of the results. Our team uses multiple methods of evaluating the data to fully understand the changes to the microbiome.
 
One method, 16s gene sequencing technology, allows us to identify members of the microbial population to the genus level. We can also drill further into the microbial landscape to identify microbes by species with whole genome sequencing. This information helps us see trends and recognize patterns so we can further focus our analysis. Often, we find imbalances in the microbiome that contribute to pathogen growth, and this helps direct our search for a potential solution.

Screening potential solutions 

Once we identify the species that’s out of balance in the microbiome, we identify potential solutions. Within a species of probiotics, different strains often have different inhibitory effects on pathogens. We then select a customized solution for the challenge.

Optimal poultry performance

Poultry production is complex, and every disease challenge is different. Our approach to a challenge on one poultry operation could be vastly different than our approach to another. In either case, the result is a customized solution for optimal poultry performance.

Let’s work together

Are you interested in a customized solution? Contact our team today and ask about the Purina^® Microbiome Quotient^™ service.