New scientific trial data from Cargill's animal nutrition business revealed that its Proviox Breeder additive, a special blend of antioxidants, can help customers improve their broiler performance and increase profits up to $1.00 USD per broiler breeder and $.02 per broiler. Proviox Breeder is a new version of Cargill's market-leading plant-based antioxidant Proviox that has been specially tailored for breeder birds.

To test the effects of including Proviox Breeder in diets, Cargill conducted 10 trials in its Global Animal Nutrition Innovation Center in Velddriel, The Netherlands. The trial results demonstrate that using Proviox Breeder in breeder diets, customers can expect better broiler growth performance with fewer broken eggs, better chick hatchability and improved chick quality.

"Effective early nutrition is critical in overall poultry performance. Weight at hatch as well as growth performance during the first weeks of a chick's life impacts the chicken's overall growth performance," says Maxime Hilbert, Cargill's global additives technology leader. "Ultimately, by maximizing breeder performance using Proviox Breeder, customers can make a significant positive impact on their profits. For instance, a customer with a flock of 100,000 birds could make an extra $100,000 USD each year."

Key findings of the Proviox Breeder trials included:

• Fewer broken eggs, as the egg shell is 7%-9% stronger
• As a result of better hatchability and fewer broken eggs, the number of chicks hatched per breeder increased by 1.8% (or two to three extra chicks per breeder)
• Chicks are 2%-4% heavier at hatch
• Increased glutathione in the liver demonstrate embryos have better performance during their first weeks of life
• Broilers are 70-110 grams heavier at 35 days

The trials associated with Proviox Breeder are part of a larger Cargill project aimed at improving poultry performance through better breeder nutrition. At its Global Animal Nutrition Innovation Center in Velddriel, The Netherlands, Cargill has the unique capability to test breeder diets, hatch the eggs on site and grow out the broilers to market age all in one facility.

"This gives Cargill the opportunity to test diets through the entire broiler cycle from breeder production to hatching performance, all the way to market age," said Roland Koedijk, PhD, Cargill's global poultry technology leader. "We believe this breeder research program provides us deep insights that are critical to improving all elements of breeder diets including premixes, specialty additives, and complete feeds."

 Marketed under Cargill's Provimi PROMOTE range of additives, Proviox Breeder is currently undergoing the registration process in many countries around the world and is expected to become available to poultry customers in multiple geographies throughout the next year. For optimal results, Cargill nutritionists recommend working with a Cargill poultry sales consultant to develop a customized feeding program to suit local environments, business goals and regulations. 

For more information, visit Cargill.com.