By Dr. Sanket Wakchaure, Poultry Nutritionist, Trouw Nutrition South Asia
Introduction
Copper is an essential trace mineral in poultry diets, vital for supporting immune function, antioxidant defence, bone strength, iron metabolism, and overall growth. Typically administered at levels ranging from 5-30 ppm, copper plays a crucial role in enhancing poultry health and productivity.
Historically recognized for its antimicrobial properties, copper has been employed in various applications, including as an antibacterial agent and water purifier. In poultry nutrition, elevated copper levels can improve gut health by influencing microbial balance in the gastrointestinal tract. This adjustment enhances feed efficiency, growth rates, and gut integrity. With potential shifts in antimicrobial use regulations and increasing demands for sustainable poultry production, optimizing gut health through copper supplementation offers a promising strategy. This article examines how high copper levels can positively impact gut function and performance, aligning with evolving industry standards.
Mechanisms of antimicrobial action of copper surface (Contact killing)
Despite the differences in copper forms, the antimicrobial activity of copper appears to be directly linked to its oxidative behaviour and the solubility properties of copper oxides. Copper can cause membrane damage through nonenzymatic oxidative damage to membrane phospholipids, resulting in the loss of membrane integrity and cell death. Additionally, copper’s capacity to release ions causes oxidative stress by producing reactive oxygen species (ROS) under aerobic conditions, demonstrated by redox cycling between the different forms of copper as shown in Fig. 1.
Fig. 1. Mechanisms of antimicrobial action of copper surface (Contact killing)
Elevated copper levels boost beneficial bacteria while diminishing harmful strains, leading to lower levels of faecal metabolites. This reduction indicates more efficient protein and carbohydrate digestion, reflecting improved nutrient absorption.
Feeding High Copper Levels
Nutritional levels of copper in animal diets are designed to meet physiological needs, supporting tissue integrity, enzyme functions, immune competency, and overall performance. These levels ensure that essential trace minerals are absorbed across the intestinal wall to fulfil the bird’s physiological and metabolic requirements. In contrast, feeding copper at higher levels, such as 125-250 ppm, significantly exceeds these basic requirements. This elevated supplementation creates a beneficial environment in the distal part of the intestinal tract, enhancing feed efficiency, growth rates, and gut health. By surpassing standard nutritional levels, high copper use improves bird’s performance and gut integrity through better nutrient utilization and a more robust defence against pathogens as shown in Fig. 2 and 3.
However, incorporating high copper levels into poultry diets requires careful management to avoid potential negative interactions with other minerals and vitamins. Excessive copper can disrupt the balance of essential minerals like iron and zinc, impair the retention of vitamins A, E, K, and B1, and reduce phytase efficacy, which may affect overall feed stability. To mitigate these issues, it is important to use the appropriate form of copper. While copper sulfate can lead to these adverse interactions, IntelliBond Cu from Trouw Nutrition offers a solution by minimizing such effects.
Fig. 2. Gut Cu when feeding 150 ppm IntelliBond Cu (Klasing et al., 2012)
Fig. 3. Feeding Higher Cu PPMs as a Microbial Growth Inhibitor. (Klasing et al., 2012)
*TMC – Too many colonies to count
In another study conducted at UCDAVIS University of California, the impact of high copper on ileal microbial content was evaluated 4 hours after inoculation. The results demonstrated that IntelliBond Cu from Trouw Nutrition significantly reduced E. coli and C. perfringens counts compared to copper sulfate, as illustrated in the table 1
Table 1: The impact of high copper on ileal microbial content
Recent in-vivo trials with broiler birds have shown that higher inclusion levels of Intellibond Cu improve body weight and feed intake. In contrast, these performance indicators (body weight and feed intake) are negatively affected when copper sulfate is added at higher levels. Several feeding trials with Intellibond Cu have shown that, when fed at the appropriate levels, it can mitigate the challenge of necrotic enteritis in birds.
In addition to this, hydroxy forms of Copper, Zinc and Manganese (Intellibond Cu, Zn, Mn), when coupled with chelated forms of trace minerals, can enhance feed quality, feed efficiency, and the bioavailability of trace minerals. IntelliBond, from Trouw Nutrition, is the first line of hydroxy trace minerals for use in animal feeds that effectively meets the nutritional requirements of trace minerals and subsequently enhancing the growth and productive performance of birds.
The low solubility of IntelliBond at neutral pH results in less interaction in the feed/premix and the upper gastrointestinal tract. This means more metal is available for use by the animal where it is needed most. Further, low solubility at a higher pH avoids negative interactions in the upper digestive tract. lntelliBond is more soluble in a low pH environment and allows for a slower, more stable release throughout the gastrointestinal tract. Solubility of different forms of copper at different pH as illustrated in Fig. 4.
Exclusive OptiSize® particle technology creates uniform particles, making IntelliBond non-hygroscopic, non-reactive and essentially dust free. OptiSize™ technology improves handling, precision and uniformity in feed.
Fig. 4. Copper Solubility at a Different pH
Conclusion
Incorporating high copper levels into poultry diets offers both bacteriostatic and bactericidal effects, effectively limiting the growth of various pathogenic bacteria, including Gram-positive species such as Clostridium spp. and Gram-negative strains like E. coli and Salmonella spp. High copper levels present a promising alternative to antibiotics in antibiotic-free rearing practices. When administered in the appropriate form and dosage, copper reduces pathogenic bacteria, conserves nutrients, and enhances bird performance. IntelliBond from Trouw Nutrition has consistently demonstrated these benefits through extensive in-vitro, in-vivo, and commercial trials. The IntelliBond technology, utilizing Hydroxy Copper as its copper source, represents the latest advancement in trace mineral nutrition, significantly improving poultry operation efficiency while meeting sustainability standards.
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