Diet, housing system affect cecal salmonella population
Diet and housing type appear to
influence the population of cecal
salmonella, according to researchers
from North Carolina State University.
In their study, broilers raised in cages
as well as conventional broilers raised
on floored litter were fed ground
corn soybean meal,
coarsely ground
corn soybean meal,
ground triticale soybean meal or whole triticale soybean meal.
(Triticale is a man-made crop
developed by crossing wheat and cereal rye).
Next a "cocktail" with four strains
of Salmonella enterica was orally
gavaged into each chick.
At 42-days-old,
birds that had received whole
or coarsely ground grains had decreased cecal
salmonella populations
and so did the broilers reared on litter,
say F.B. Santos and associates in an
article published in the March 2008 issue
of Poultry Science.
Broilers raised on litter may have achieved
lower cecal salmonella populations than caged
birds because access to litter may have modulated intestinal micro flora by increasing competitive exclusion microorganisms,
which discouraged salmonella
colonization, the investigators conclude.
Spring 2008
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