Landless monogastric animal production system
The present invention relates to a preferably computer-implemented method of raising a group of monogastric animals Issues such as exposure of the animals to an initiator of a disease are recognized at an early stage by ex vivo analysis of blood samples. Said analysis is done where the animals are raised using point-of-care devices. Accuracy of separation between affected and non-affected animals is increased by measuring a set of pre-determined blood parameters. The landless monogastric animal production system of the invention facilitates implementation of the method of the invention.
1 . A computer-implemented method for treating or preventing coccidiosis comprising:
receiving, by a computing device and from a point-of-care device, blood parameters that have been measured ex vivo in blood of at least one member of a group of birds;
providing a model which defines predetermined ranges of blood parameters indicative of birds suffering from coccidiosis, wherein the blood parameters indicative of the birds suffering from coccidiosis comprise at least three pre-determined blood parameters selected from a group consisting of sodium, potassium, globulin, carotenoid and anion gap;
analyzing, using the model, the blood parameters to determine if the group of birds is in need of an additive that treats or prevents coccidiosis;
based on the at least three pre-determined blood parameters falling outside the predetermined ranges and after a determination that the group of birds is in need of the additive, sending, by the computing device and to a user device, a recommendation for adding the additive to feed that treats or prevents coccidiosis; and
administering, based on the recommendation and to the group of birds, an appropriate feed with the additive comprising one or more microbial muramidases to treat or prevent coccidiosis.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the additive is a feed additive that comprises the one or more microbial muramidases obtained or obtainable from phylum Ascomycota, or subphylum Pezizomycotina.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the group of birds is a group of chickens of a single breed and a single age.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the blood parameters have been measured ex vivo in the blood of chicken between 9 and 21 days old.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the blood parameters comprise a total amount of carotenoids in blood serum that has been separated from whole blood.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the model defines a predetermined range for each of the blood parameters, wherein determining that the group of birds is in need of the additive comprises:
determining that the at least three pre-determined blood parameters fall outside the corresponding predetermined range.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the group of birds is a group of chickens of a single breed, a single age, and a single sex.
8 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the blood parameters have been measured in the blood of chicken between 10 and 18 days old.
9 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the blood parameters have been measured in the blood of chicken of 13 days old.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein analyzing the blood parameters comprises analyzing, in a specific breed of chicken, potassium or sodium in whole blood.
11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein analyzing the blood parameters comprises analyzing calcium in whole blood independent from a breed of chicken.
12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein analyzing, using the model, the blood parameters comprise:
providing, as input to the model, the blood parameters associated with the at least one member of the group of birds; and
receiving, as output from the model, an indication whether the group of birds is in need of the additive that treats or prevents coccidiosis.
13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the blood parameters depend on a state of causal variable, and wherein the causal variable is selected from a group consisting of heat stress, humidity, nutritional inadequacy, transport stress and exposure to a coccidial challenge.
14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein administering the appropriate feed with the additive comprising the one or more microbial muramidases comprises:
replacing a vaccination schedule of the group of birds with a schedule for administering the appropriate feed.
15 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
after determining, using the model, that a first group of birds associated with a first age is in need of the additive that treats or prevents coccidiosis, administering the appropriate feed with the additive comprising the one or more microbial muramidases; and
after determining that a second group of birds is associated with a second age different from the first age, vaccinating the second group of birds with a coccidial vaccine.
16 . A system for landless monogastric animal production for treating or preventing coccidiosis comprising:
at least one point-of-care device suitable for measuring values of blood parameters of at least one member of a group of birds;
at least one user device coupled to the at least one point-of-care device; and
a computing device configured to:
receive, from the point-of-care device, blood parameters that have been measured ex vivo in blood of at least one member of a group of birds;
provide a model which defines predetermined ranges of blood parameters indicative of birds suffering from coccidiosis, wherein the blood parameters indicative of the birds suffering from coccidiosis comprise at least three pre-determined blood parameters selected from a group consisting of sodium, potassium, globulin, carotenoid and anion gap;
analyze, using the model, the blood parameters to determine if the group of birds is in need of an additive that treats or prevents coccidiosis;
based on the at least three pre-determined blood parameters falling outside the predetermined range and after a determination that the group of birds is in need of the additive, send, to the user device, a recommendation for adding the additive to feed that treats or prevents coccidiosis; and
administering, based on the recommendation and to the group of birds, an appropriate feed with the additive comprising one or more microbial muramidases to treat or prevent coccidiosis.
17 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the additive is a feed additive that comprises the one or more microbial muramidases obtained or obtainable from phylum Ascomycota, or subphylum Pezizomycotina.
18 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the group of birds is a group of chickens of a single breed and a single age.
19 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the values of the blood parameters have been measured ex vivo in the blood of chicken between 9 and 21 days old.
20 . The system of claim 19 , wherein the blood parameters have been measured in the blood of chicken between 10 and 18 days old.
21 . The system of claim 19 , wherein the blood parameters have been measured in the blood of chicken of 13 days old.