The feasibility of establishing probiotic bacteria in the intestine of broiler chickens by in ovo inoculation was investigated, followed by verifying possible subsequent protection against Salmonella Enteriditis infection. In a first study, 7 commercially available probiotics were screened for compatibility with in ovo inoculation. Two of these probiotics, one being a Enterococcus faecium and the other a Bacillus subtilis, were selected for colonizing the chick gut without compromising hatchability. In a second study, these 2 products were administered in ovo and in the feed to chicks reared until 18 d in comparison with noninoculated chicks and with chicks fed an antibiotic. All chicks were orally challenged with Salmonella Enteritidis at 4 d of age. Results showed reduced performance of Salmonella Enteritidis challenged chicks fed no additives compared with challenged chicks fed antibiotic, but no significant differences in mortality was observed. Probiotics offered in ovo or through the diet could only partially recover performance compared with antibiotic-fed chicks. A significant reduction in the number of Salmonella Enteritidis positive chicks was observed when chicks were in ovo inoculated with E. faecium and continued receiving it in the diet. This work establishes standards for future in ovo colonization research and emphasizes its value as a promising method to deliver individual precise dose of probiotics to poultry in mass scale at the earliest possible age based on the competitive exclusion concept. In ovo colonization with probiotic can therefore become an important ally in combination with other approaches to combat Salmonella and other intestinal bacterial infections in poultry.

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The objective of this study was to evaluate effects of different dosages of dietary nitrate supplementation to sows from d 108 of gestation until d 5 of lactation on reproductive performance of sows and piglet performance from birth until weaning. Dietary nitrate supplementation leads to nitric oxide (NO) formation that can potentially increase blood flow to the fetuses (by the vasodilative effect of NO), leading to a decrease in the loss of potential viable piglets in the form of stillbirth and preweaning mortality. Three hundred and five gilts and sows were allocated to one of six diets from d 108 of gestation until d 5 of lactation, containing 0.00% (Control), 0.03%, 0.06%, 0.09%, 0.12%, or 0.15% of dietary nitrate. The source of nitrate used was calcium nitrate double salt. Calcium levels were kept the same among diets by using limestone. Gilts and sows were weighed and backfat was measured at arrival to the farrowing room (d 108 of gestation) and at weaning (d 27 of age). Data included number of piglets born alive, born dead, and weaned, as well as individual piglet weights at d 0, 72 h of age and weaning. Preweaning mortality was determined throughout lactation. Body weight d 0 (P = 0.04) as well as BW at 72 h of age (P < 0.01) increased linearly with increasing dosages of nitrate in the maternal diet. Litter uniformity (SD) at birth was not affected by maternal nitrate supplementation level (P > 0.10), but tended to be higher at 72 h of age in the control treatment than in all nitrate-supplemented treatments (P = 0.07), and SD decreased linearly (increased uniformity) at weaning with increasing dosages of nitrate (P = 0.05). BW at weaning (P > 0.05) and average daily gain of piglets during lactation (P > 0.05) were not affected by maternal nitrate supplementation. A tendency for a quadratic effect (P = 0.10) of the dosage of maternal dietary nitrate was found on preweaning mortality of piglets with the lowest level of mortality found at 0.09% to 0.12% of maternal nitrate supplementation. We conclude that the use of nitrate in the maternal diet of sows during the perinatal period might stimulate preweaning piglet vitality. Exact mode of action and optimal dose of nitrate still need to be elucidated.

Delayed feed and water access is known to impair growth performance of day old broiler chickens. Although effects of feed access on growth performance and immune function of broilers have been examined before, effects of dietary composition and its potential interaction with feed access are hardly investigated. This experiment aimed to determine whether moment of first feed and water access after hatch and pre-starter composition (0 to 7 days) affect growth rate and humoral immune function in broiler chickens. Direct fed chickens received feed and water directly after placement in the grow-out facility, whilst delayed fed chickens only after 48 h. Direct and delayed fed chickens received a control pre-starter diet, or a diet containing medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) or fish oil. At 21 days, chickens were immunized by injection of sheep red blood cells. The mortality rate depended on an interaction between feed access and pre-starter composition ( P = 0.014). Chickens with direct feed access fed the control pre-starter diet had a higher risk for mortality than chickens with delayed feed access fed the control pre-starter diet (16.4% v. 4.2%) whereas the other treatment groups were in-between. BW gain and feed intake till 25 days in direct fed chickens were higher compared with delayed fed chickens, whilst gain to feed ratio was lower. Within the direct fed chickens, the control prestarter diet resulted in the highest BW at 28 days and the MCFA pre-starter diet the lowest (Δ = 2.4%), whereas this was opposite for delayed fed chickens (Δ = 3.0%; P = 0.033). Provision of MCFA resulted in a 4.6% higher BW gain and a higher gain to feed ratio compared with other pre-starter diets, but only during the period it was provided (2 to 7 days). Minor treatment effects were found for humoral immune response by measuring immunoglobulins, agglutination titers, interferon gamma (IFN-γ), and complement activity. Concluding, current inclusion levels of fish oil (5 g/kg) and MCFA (30 g/kg) in the pre-starter diet appear to have limited (carryover) effects on growth and development, as well as on humoral immune function.

Reducing litter moisture is an effective measure to reduce the incidence of footpad dermatitis. Dietary mineral levels affect intestinal conditions with regard to osmolarity and water reabsorption. Magnesium is often used as a laxative, preventing reabsorption of water from the digesta, and as a consequence, more moisture in the excreta. The objective of the current experiment was to evaluate Mg in broiler diets as a model for reduced intestinal water reabsorption. Effects of magnesium source (magnesium sulfate, magnesium oxide, and magnesium chloride), each at 3 levels (0.255, 1.02, and 2.04 g·kg(-1) diet), were studied. Measured effects were digesta moisture levels throughout the gastrointestinal tract and the moisture level of the excreta. The 10 treatments were randomly assigned to cages within 6 blocks, resulting in 6 replicates per treatments with 18 birds per replicate. Adding magnesium to the diet of broilers linearly increased the excreta moisture content, following the pattern MgCl > MgSO(4) = MgO. This rejects the hypothesis that MgO and MgCl are less laxative sources compared with MgSO(4). The magnesium sources most likely changed the water reabsorption in the distal gastrointestinal tract, as confirmed by the increased digesta moisture percentage in the ceca and colon. Increasing dietary MgSO(4) linearly reduced BW gain and feed intake, though absolute differences were minor. The results of this experiment show that Mg addition in the diet may be used as a model to study wet litter caused by reduced intestinal water reabsorption.