Due to their strong antimicrobial effect, acidifiers assist in improving feed and water hygiene standards. BIOMIN GmbH provides Biotronic® acidifier line, a family of products, combined from selected blends of organic acids. The latest know-how technology enables BIOMIN GmbH to create the highly effective acidifier products and to assure their continual functionality through feed and water into animals’ gastro-intestinal tract.

The effects of various Biotronic® products were investigated in various scientific and field trials with poultry. These tests were carried out under different conditions following elaborate protocols. Supplementation with Biotronic® acidifier products in broilers improved on average feed conversion rates by 5%, average weight gain by 10% and decreased mortality by 38% compared to those of control treatments. Under practical conditions in most of the trials the net return on investments (ROI) of Biotronic® acidifier products was higher than 1:5. Some of the trials which were carried out are highlighted below.


Broiler trial with Biotronic® SE forte liquid on commercial farm, Germany

Day-old chickens were separated into control (n = 2100) and trial groups (n = 2100). During a period of 38 days the chickens in the control group received normal drinking water, whereas the trial group chickens received drinking water supplemented with Biotronic® SE forte liquid (1.0 l/1000 l drinking water). The results showed up to 6.7% higher final body weight (BW) and decreased up to 7.4% feed conversion rates (FCR) and up to 94% mortality rates in the trial group compared to the control group (Figures 1).

Figure 1: Final weight (kg), feed conversion rate and mortality (%) in response to Biotronic ® SE forte liquid


Net return on investments (ROI) for Biotronic® SE forte liquid was 1:16. The calculation is shown in Table 1.


Table 1: ROI calculation for Biotronic® SE forte liquid in broilers

Broiler trial with Biotronic® SE forte at Trakya University, Turkey

At the beginning of the trial, 240 day-old Ross chickens were assigned to either control (no acidifier) or trial groups (3 kg/t Biotronic® SE forte). Each of the two groups had 10 x 12 chickens per replicate. The duration of the trial was 35 days, during which the chickens received different diets according to their age: starter (0 - 14 days), grower (15 - 28 days) and finisher feed (29 - 35 days). The supplementation with Biotronic® SE forte constantly increased BW of trial group chickens in starter, grower and finisher periods compared to those in the control group. The FCR in both groups was almost equal, 1.52 vs. 1.53 in the trial and control groups, respectively, which indicates the optimal experimental conditions. Despite the optimal FCR, the trial group chickens achieved performance improvement through the better FI. The chickens in the acidifier group consumed significantly more feed in starter and grower periods, and numerically in the two last weeks of the trial compared to the control group (Table 2).


Table 2: Broiler performance in response to Biotronic® SE forte

Biotronic® SE forte improved broiler performance through all growth periods, while the control group obtained lower growth rates. The European Broiler Index (EBI) was increased in the acidifier treatment (310.5) compared to the control group (291.7) (Figure 2).

Figure 2: European Broiler Index in response to Biotronic ® SE forte


Broiler trial with Biotronic® SE at Bombay Veterinary College, Department of Poultry Sciences, India
The 300 day-old chickens were separated into three groups with 100 birds in each. Group A received feed supplemented with antibiotic growth promoter (AGP) (0.5 kg/t feed), group B supplemented with AGP and Biotronic® SE (0.5 and 1.0 kg/t feed, respectively) and group C was fed feed with dietary Biotronic® SE (1.5 kg/t feed). The results showed higher final BW up to 2.6 and 3.3% in group C supplemented with Biotronic® SE compared to group A and B, respectively, and decreased FCR by 2.3% compared to both groups (Table 3). European Broiler Index and European Production Efficiency Factor were increased by 2.7% (Table 3, Figure 2) and 4.5% compared to groups A and B. ROI for Biotronic® SE was 1:5.


Table 3: Broiler performance in response to Biotronic® SE

Figure 2: European Broiler Index in response to Biotronic ® SE



Broiler trial with Biotronic® SE on commercial farm, France

Day-old chickens were separated into control (n = 360) and trial groups (n = 360). During a period of 38 days the chickens in the control group received normal feed, whereas the trial group chickens received feed supplemented with Biotronic® SE. The results showed up to 12 g higher final BW and decreased FCR by 5.1% and mortality by 28.7% in the trial group compared to the control group chickens (Table 4).


Table 4: Broiler performance in response to Biotronic® SE

Broiler trial with Biotronic® Multi liquid on commercial farm, Austria

Day-old chickens were separated into control (n = 800) and trial groups (n = 800). During a period of 38 days the chickens in the control group received normal water, whereas the trial group chickens received water supplemented with Biotronic® Multi liquid (1 l/1000l water). The results showed up to 11 g higher final BW and by 6.3% decreased FCR and by 42.5% mortality rates in the trial group compared to the control group chickens (Table 5).


Table 5: Broiler performance in response to Biotronic® Multi liquid

Return on investments

The return on investment (ROI) is a very important part of any investment review. Calculation of ROI is influenced by different factors and costs. Costs per unit and net returns in livestock production are highly dependent on variable costs such as feed and feed additives prices, morbidity and mortality rates, with them related veterinary service and medicine expenses, broiler market prices per kg live weight (LW) or per kg of slaughter weight, which vary considerably from country to country, and are closely related to the local market pricing system. Moreover, the calculation of ROI is influence by fixed costs such as stables, equipment maintenance and labor.

There is no common calculation of ROI, one can calculate the ROI relating to the carcass yield or net return on feed additive, or annual ROI, which shows the return in a certain time period, e.g. a week, 6 months or a year.
The calculation of the net ROI for feed additive is related to three steps:

     1. Calculation of the amount of investment in feed additive
     2. Calculation of the revenue, associated with the investment
     3. Calculation of ROI dividing the revenue by the investment

Under practical conditions in most of the trials the net ROI of Biotronic® acidifier products was higher than 1:5, which means with every Euro invested for Biotronic® products the return is at least 5 times that amount.


Conclusion

The various scientific and field trials proved, that supplementation of Biotronic® line products either into animal feed or water, improves the animal growth performance and decreases the illness and mortality rates. The Biotronic® product line consists of products available in both powder and liquid forms for application in feed and water - ideal and practical solutions for prevention and control of pathogenic bacteria in broiler flocks.