NOVUS Research Highlights New Opportunities For Broiler Performance and Meat Quality

Better feed efficiency, stronger bird health, improved processing results and consistent meat quality all contribute to profitability. New research from NOVUS highlights how nutrition strategies can help producers achieve these goals by supporting the bird from the digestive tract to the processing plant. 

Four presentations represented at the 2026 annual meetings of the Poultry Science Association and the World’s Poultry Congress showcaseenzyme technology and bis-chelated trace minerals under a range of commercial and challenge conditions. While each presentation and its associated research focused on a different production objective, the results reinforce a common theme: targeted intelligent nutrition solutions can support overall resilience and processing value. In a partnership with Agrivet Research & Advisory, researchers evaluated CIBENZA^® MAXX Enzyme Feed Additive against a wild-type xylanase in broilers fed corn-soybean meal diets formulated with reduced dietary energy. Birds fed the lower-energy diets saw increased feed conversion ratio (FCR), demonstrating the performance cost of reduced available energy. The trial showed that birds receiving the CIBENZA^® MAXX recovered the lost feed efficiency to levels comparable with birds fed the positive control diet. Researchers also observed better caloric utilization and favorable changes in sections of the intestinal lining associated with nutrient absorption in those birds. In this study, CIBENZA^® MAXX Enzyme Feed Additive showed a greater measured response than the wild-type xylanase under reduced-energy feeding conditions. This suggests that enzyme technology can help producers maintain efficiency even under reduced-energy feeding conditions. 

A study with North Carolina State University examined the impact of replacing inorganic trace minerals with lower inclusion levels of MINTREX^® Bis-Chelated Trace Minerals on broilers under an Enterococcus cecorum challenge model. E. Cecorum is a bacterial pathogen associated with lameness and mortality.  

Birds fed diets where inorganic trace minerals were replaced by bis-chelated minerals at a lower inclusion level showed reduced bacterial translocation along with performance support during the challenge. Researchers also reported indicators associated with resilience to E. cecorum exposure in birds fed bis-chelated trace minerals. These findings suggest optimized trace mineral nutrition may support resilience under the evaluated challenge conditions. 

Another study shifted attention to processing performance. Conducted under commercial conditions in Brazil, the research evaluated MINTREX^® Zn Bis-Chelated Trace Mineral alone and in combination with MINTREX^® Cu Bis-Chelated Trace Mineral. The study showed increasing zinc supplementation enhanced tissue strength, while combining zinc and copper produced the highest percentage of export-quality skin and reduced severe skin defects during processing. For producers and processors alike, stronger skin integrity can translate into higher carcass quality and processing efficiency, and greater product value. 

Understanding mineral mode of action is an ongoing source of study. NOVUS partnered with Biofractal to explore how MINTREX^® Cu Bis-Chelated Trace Mineral supports bird performance at the cellular level. Across three independent broiler trials involving more than 3,600 birds, researchers compared MINTREX^® Cu with tribasic copper chloride (TBCC). Advanced gene expression analysis identified biological differences between copper sources under the evaluated conditions. Findings indicated the bis-chelated copper source supported intestinal health, cellular energy production and amino acid metabolism more effectively than TBCC under challenge conditions. Rather than simply measuring production outcomes, this work provides new insight into how nutritional interventions influence the bird’s natural physiology and the positive effect using less of a more bioavailable copper source can have on intestinal health and the immune system. 

Collectively, these studies demonstrate how intelligent nutrition supports broiler production. From maximizing nutrient utilization to supporting intestinal function, resilience and carcass quality, nutrition decisions can influence outcomes well beyond growth alone. As production systems continue to balance efficiency, sustainability and product quality, research such as this helps producers better understand how targeted nutritional strategies contribute to stronger business performance.