A new on-farm method for assessing the quality of pullets has been launched by Lallemand Animal Nutrition.

The new measurement was unveiled by the company at this year's European Symposium on Poultry Nutrition (ESPN) in Rimini, Italy, following a trial to validate its use on a 30,000 pullet commercial rearing unit.

Hannah Elliott, Lallemand's monogastric technical manager for the UK, says the tool will help poultry producers more accurately assess the quality and future performance of their pullets.

"We have known for some time that body weight measurement is not enough to properly evaluate pullet quality," adds Ms Elliott.

"Muscle development and protein retention are also important parameters to consider for pullet quality and future laying performance.

"The new measurement tool we've trialled focuses on these parameters by assessing the thickness of the breast muscle in pullets using handheld ultrasonography."

She says as well as validating the tool, the trial on the commercial rearing unit also assessed the effect of probiotic supplementation with Pediococcus acidilactici CNCM I-4622, known commercially as Bactocell, on pullet performance.

"The trial found that supplementation with the probiotic led to thicker breast muscles in the pullets, alongside improved and efficient growth performance," adds Ms Elliott.

"By improving feed digestibility and lowering inflammation, the probiotic appears to contribute to better protein retention from feed and more efficient protein deposition in the muscle - as such, it is considered a promising nutritional strategy to secure laying hen performance."

Meanwhile, the results from two other Lallemand trials were presented at this year's ESPN.

The first involved supplementing laying hens with Bactocell during the late phase of their production cycle, while the second involved supplementing rearing pullets at hatch with Aviguard - a natural microbiota isolated from healthy poultry.

"Results from the Bactocell study show confirmed benefits in laying performance, due to the probiotic improving gut health and performance," explains Ms Elliott.

"The Aviguard study also showed positive results with the probiotic resulting in a reduction of opportunistic pathogenic bacteria in the pullets' guts, leading to pullet robustness and resilience at a time when early colonisation by opportunistic pathogenic bacteria represents a major threat to flock health."

For more details about the new pullet quality assessment method contact: helliot@lallemand.com