The influence of feeding crimped kernel maize silage on growth performance and intestinal colonization with Campylobacter jejuni of broilers.

The influence of feeding crimped kernel maize silage on growth performance and intestinal colonization with Campylobacter jejuni of broilers. Avian Pathol. 2016 Apr;45(2):253-60 Authors: Ranjitkar S, Engberg RM Abstract An infection trial and a production trial over 35 days were conducted in parallel to study the influence of feeding crimped kernel maize silage (CKMS) on the intestinal Campylobacter jejuni colonization and broiler performance, respectively. The CKMS was used at dietary inclusion levels of 15% and 30% in maize-based diets. Broilers were orally inoculated with 2 × 10(5) log cfu/ml C. jejuni on day 14. Four birds from each pen were randomly selected and killed by cervical dislocation on days 3, 6, 9, 14 and 21 post infection and intestinal contents from ileum, caeca and rectum as well as liver samples were taken. Body weight and feed consumption of broilers were registered on days 13, 22 and 35. On day 35, litter dry matter (DM) was measured and the condition of the foot pads was evaluated. There was no significant effect of CKMS on the colonization of C. jejuni. Body weight of the broilers supplemented with 15% CKMS was comparable with the control maize-based feed, whereas addition of 30% CKMS reduced broiler body weight (P < 0.001). However, DM intake and feed conversion ratio were the same in all three dietary treatments. Furthermore, the foot pad condition of broilers significantly improved with the ...
Source: Avian Pathology - Category: Pathology Authors: Tags: Avian Pathol Source Type: research