Effect of Ingested Lactobacilli on Salmonella Infantis and Escherichia Coli and on Intestinal Flora, Pasted Vents, and Chick Growth

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The use of lactobacilli (LB) in poultry medicine was evaluated. The numbers of LB and E. coli present in the ceca of newly hatched chicks from the same hatchery had marked variation among hatches. LB inoculated into the crop a few hours after hatching did not induce a reduction of S. infantis in the cecal contents. A single dose of LB given 1 day after hatching did not appear to alter the LB-coliform balance in the cecum. In 1 group of fasted chicks, LB inoculation prevented accumulation of excreta around the vents. Prophylactic feeding of LB to nonstressed chicks averted pasted vents. Continuous feeding of LB produced a numerical increase of body wt that was not statistically significant in the small groups of birds utilized. Poults hatched from medicated eggs had a low LB count in the cecum, and crop instillation of LB at 1 day of age did not change the cecal LB-coliform flora at 9 days of age in treated and untreated groups. LB that had an initial viable count of 109 and was held at room temperature in tap water remained at that titer for 23 days. Various numerical combinations of LB and E. coli in the stationary phase of growth did not, at any concentration of either organism, depress viability of the other.