Perinatal feeding of epidermal growth factor to enhance development and maintenance of a functional intestinal tract for improved growth and efficacy in poultry

Principal Investigator

Elijah Kiarie, University of Guelph

Year the work was done

2018-2022

Overall objective

  • Evaluate the ability of epidermal growth factor (EGF) to stimulate gastrointestinal development of broilers pre-hatch and its subsequent effects of growth performance, gastrointestinal development, resiliency to enteric pathogen challenge and nutrient utilization in the context of an antibiotic-free feeding program.

Specific objectives

  • Evaluate the effects of in ovo application of EGF in the amniotic fluid of incubated fertile broiler eggs on the indices of gastrointestinal tract development.
  • Evaluate growth performance, nutrient digestibility and enteric pathogen responses of broiler chickens treated with EGF during incubation.

This research applies to

Breeders, Broilers, Layers, Turkeys

This research was supported by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canadian Poultry Research Council, and the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.