I am a broiler grower in Missouri. My farm capacity is 140,000 birds per flock. We raise 6 flocks per year, with little downtime between flocks.

I have been using Oxine® as a water treatment for about a year and a half, with excellent results. I have seen an improvement in bird health, improved feed conversion, and a reduction in condemned birds at the plant. I have also seen a dramatic improvement in water line sanitation, with algae growth stopped almost completely.

There have been no negative effects from the Oxine®, either on the equipment or on the birds themselves. My water lines remain clean between flocks, with no bacteria, algae or slime growth. Flushing of the lines is no longer necessary. There has been no reduction in water consumption at rates up to 5ppm, and possibly even an increase in consumption. The birds are healthier and my settlements have improved by at least 2 places on average since I started using Oxine®. Dermatitis has been eliminated, which is what got me interested in Oxine® in the first place.

In no way does the use of Oxine® affect the quality of the meat, but rather eliminates many of the causes of condemnation that I was having problems with previously. Feed passage has been reduced significantly, and I no longer have to run supplemental copper sulfate or other chemicals to prevent feed passage.

Oxine® has proven itself to safe, effective, and I believe pays for itself in improved production and reduced condemn and feed passage.

David Brittenham
Brittenham Farms, Inc.
Monett, MO

Oxine as a Management Tool

Oxine® has been successfully used in the drinking water and misted over pigs on a large number of farms. The following are the results of one management group.

Oxine® was used for eight months on ten thousand weaned to finished pigs in multiple barns under the management of five different contract growers.

All the barns received the same feed ration with two pig sources with the same genetics, all in and all out. Of the ten thousand head, four thousand were PRRS negative. Six thousand head were PRRS positive.

Each farm used activated Oxine® at a rate of 2-3 ounces per gallon of batch solution, and then ran through a medicator at 1 : 128. This batch was the only source of drinking water for the pigs from start to finish. One-half the pigs were misted once a day at 200 ppm of activated Oxine® (200 ppm = 1.28 ounces of activated Oxine® per gallon).

The results of this treatment showed a daily rate of gain of 1.75 and a 1/10 better feed efficiency. This was compared to a 1.65 rate of gain prior to the use of Oxine®.

None of the ten thousand pigs broke with PRRS. No cases of SIV were observed. One location lost four to five 225 lb. pigs from ILEITIS. The manager reported that the farm had run out of Oxine® for 3 days and the farm was susceptible to ILEITIS. After Oxine® was restored to the water source, no further cases were reported.

The manager stated that by the use of Oxine®, he increased the rate of gain and feed efficiency by one-tenth. The cost of Oxine® was off-set by the lack of having to use other medications. On a per basis, the cost of the use of Oxine® through the water and misting was $1.41. He further stated that the barns that were misted showed a two-thirds less need for respiratory medication. The manager summed it up by saying, "Oxine® is not a cure all but a good management tool."