Coccidiosis initiative to help reduce poultry losses
Targeting the global poultry industry’s more than $3 billion in annual losses to coccidiosis, Zoetis Inc. has introduced Rotecc Coccidiosis Management, a new, science-based initiative to help poultry producers worldwide develop more strategic, cost-effective and sustainable programs for battling the costly parasitic disease.
“Overall, the poultry industry has done a commendable job managing coccidiosis. But clearly, when you look at billions of dollars in losses associated with the disease, there is still lots of room for improvement,” Mark LaVorgna, PhD, a nutritionist and global technical services director for the company, said at a news conference in Atlanta before the 2014 International Production & Processing Expo.
“With Rotecc, we’re drawing on decades of published research, field and pen trials and our own experience managing coccidiosis in more than 60 countries to help close that gap. We are doing this not just with our own products but with all field-demonstrated anticoccidial tools available in the animal health industry.”
Rotecc begins with a consultation by a Zoetis representative, who reviews a poultry operation’s past and current programs, necropsy data and results from anticoccidial sensitivity testing, as well as seasonal preferences for product usage, production goals and management practices. Other variables such as feed costs and meat prices also are considered.
Rotecc is built on best practices widely accepted by the poultry science community for coccidiosis management. Specifically, this includes not using the same in-feed anticoccidial for too long, rotating among products from different classes, resting each product and using a synthetic anticoccidial once yearly to clean up lingering coccidia and help reduce infection pressure.
To support Rotecc, Zoetis is developing several digital tools to help producers and veterinarians tailor a long-term program to suit their individual needs. These include the Rotecc Program Advisor, an iPad app that initially will be available in the US, and a Rotecc Calculator, which will run on the iPad and Windows operating systems. It will be used to help determine the most cost-effective anticoccidials for each producer’s rotation plan while adhering to best practices for rotation.
Source: Zoetis
Join 31,000+ subscribers
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated about all the need-to-know content in the poultry sector, three times a week.
