# Evaluating Good Husbandry Practices and Organic Fermented Additives for Coccidiosis Control in a Pilot Study Using Slow-Growing Broilers

## TL;DR

This study shows that combining good animal care and a natural fermented additive can help control a common chicken disease in small farms in Argentina.

## Contribution

The study introduces a sustainable, agroecological approach using organic fermented additives and improved husbandry to manage coccidiosis in small-scale poultry.

## Key findings

- Mild coccidiosis significantly reduced productivity in slow-growing chickens.
- Combining good animal welfare with an organic fermented additive improved productivity and reduced disease effects.
- The organic additive contained lactic acid bacteria and increased productivity by 24.44% over 75 days.

## Abstract

To ensure healthy and sustainable food systems, it is crucial to adopt a ‘One Health’ approach, which recognizes the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health. In this context, family poultry farms in Argentina play an important role in providing high-quality meat and eggs, contributing significantly to food security. However, these farms often face challenges, particularly from coccidiosis, a widespread parasitic disease that severely impacts chicken health, reduces productivity, and causes economic losses. While large-scale poultry operations use vaccinations, family farms typically rely on management practices and medications to control coccidiosis due to cost constraints. This pilot study aimed to assess the susceptibility of a chicken breed commonly used by small Argentine producers to local Eimeria spp. and to explore sustainable coccidiosis management. The results showed that even mild Eimeria infection, primarily of moderate pathogenicity, decreased productive parameters. However, combining good husbandry practices, including animal welfare, with an organic fermented additive improved these parameters. These findings suggest that environmentally friendly approaches could effectively control this prevalent parasitic disease, reducing the need for anticoccidial chemicals, offering significant economic benefits to small-scale farmers, and potentially extending their applicability to other slow-growing breeds worldwide.

The Argentine Campero-INTA slow-growing chicken, a widely used breed in family poultry farming, faces high coccidiosis prevalence, impairing productivity. Control often relies on management and drugs due to vaccination costs. This pilot study assessed the breed’s susceptibility to local Eimeria and the impact of good animal welfare practices (AWPs) and an organic fermented additive, locally produced, combined with AWPs (OF-AWPs). Two trials evaluated productive (body weight gain and feed conversion), infection (oocyst excretion and lesion score), and histopathological parameters (villus height and crypt depth). The productivity (PI) and anticoccidial (ACI) indexes were calculated. Metagenomic analysis of the additive was also conducted. Mild to moderate coccidiosis significantly reduced PI (7.99–16.83 vs. 29.29 in unchallenged controls). In the second trial, AWPs showed good anticoccidial efficacy (ACI 173.9), while OF-AWPs demonstrated high efficacy, especially in birds of 28 days (ACI 180.6), improving productive parameters, reducing oocyst shedding, and enhancing the villus height to crypt depth ratio. Over a 75-day cycle, the OF-AWP increased the PI by 24.44% compared to untreated chickens (108.8 vs. 87.43). Lactic acid bacteria were the main component of the organic fermented additive. This research highlights the potential of an agroecological strategy to manage coccidiosis in Campero-INTA chickens.