Excential PelletAid (PA) is a pellet aid product consisting of surfactants and preservatives (organic acids). In two trials performed by Orffa Additives at a feed manufacturing plant in the Netherlands, PA (0.5 kg/t feed, added at the expense of wheat) improved the quality of pellet for growing broilers (Figures 1 and 2). The trials differed by the diet composition: T1 wheat-soybean-corn-based; T2, corn-soybean-based. In T1, PA reduced the pellet hardness by -16.7 %, while maintaining the durability. Within this specific feed, optimum pellet durability was already reached with the control feed. Dietary inclusion of wheat can increase the durability, because of the high protein (gluten) and hemi-cellulose content of wheat. Macro-structural characteristics of pellets such as durability and hardness have the ability to influence feed consumption. The control pellets had an average hardness of 1.92 kgf, which is at the upper part of optimal pellet hardness for broiler feed (1.4-2.0 kgf) and may affect feed intake of broilers, especially in the early phases. The use of PA resulted in a softer, but more optimal pellet (hardness 1.60 kgf), as in practice optimal feed intake is expected around a pellet hardness of 1.5 kgf.
