Infection of broiler parent hens with avian intestinal spirochaetes: Effects on egg production and chick quality

Abstract

Broiler parent hens were inoculated with avian intestinal spirochaetes several weeks before the onset of egg production. The infection persisted, wet droppings developed, and egg production, mean egg weight and carotenoid contents of the eggs were decreased. Hatching eggs were collected and incubated. In broilers which hatched from these eggs, reduced gain in body weight at 2 and 3 weeks of age, wet droppings, low plasma carotenoid concentration and elevated alkaline phosphatase activity in the blood plasma were observed. Spirochaetes were not detected in these broilers. These findings demonstrated the deleterious effects on chick quality of parental infection with avian intestinal spirochaetes. Avian intestinal spirochaetosis was diagnosed in about 2.5% of all submissions from reproductive flocks in 1991.

Experimental infection of laying hens withSerpulina intermediacauses reduced egg production and increased faecal water content

“…It has not been reported from North America. Experim ental infection of adult birds with Dutch S. intermedia strain 1380 resulted in increased faecal water content, reduced egg production, and poor perform ance in broilers hatched from the infected parents (Dwars et al, 1989;1992b ;1993). The same strain also caused depressed growth and increased faecal fat in experimentally infected broilers (Dwars et al, 1992a) .…”

“…Interest in the role of intestinal spirochaetes as pathogens of chickens has increased in recent years, following the publication of a series of reports implicating these bacteria as a cause of diarrhoea, reduced egg produc tion and/or faecal staining of eggshells in layer and broiler breeder ocks in the Netherlands (Davelaar et al, 1986;Dwars et al, 1989Dwars et al, , 1990Dwars et al, , 1992bDwars et al, , 1993Sm it et al, 1998) , England (Grif® ths et al, 1987) , the USA (Swayne et al, 1992;Tram pel et al, 1994), and Australia (McLaren et al, 1996) . The bacteria involved were all weakly haem olytic, but otherwise were poorly characterized, and it was not clear whether the various reports even referred to spirochaetes of the sam e species.…”

Experimental infection of broiler breeder hens with the intestinal spirochaete Brachyspira ( Serpulina ) pilosicoli causes reduced egg production

“…In the Netherlands, experimental infection of adult birds with spirochaete strain 1380, later identified as B. intermedia (McLaren et al, 1997), resulted in increased faecal water content, reduced egg production and poor performance in broilers hatched from the infected birds (Dwars et al, 1989(Dwars et al, , 1992a(Dwars et al, , 1993. In Australia, experimental infection of layer hens with an Australian chicken isolate of B. intermedia resulted in prolonged caecal colonization, increased faecal moisture content and reduced egg production (Hampson & McLaren, 1999).…”

“…Colonization tends to be chronic in adult birds in infected flocks (Dwars et al, 1990), and has been associated with a variety of symptoms including diarrhoea, increased faecal fat content, faecal staining of eggshells, delayed onset of egg laying, reduced egg weights, reduced growth rates, increased feed consumption and poor digestion of feed (Davelaar et al, 1986;Griffiths et al, 1987;Dwars et al, 1990;Swayne et al, 1992;Dwars et al, 1992aDwars et al, , 1993Trampel et al, 1994). Broiler flocks derived from the offspring of breeder flocks infected with spirochaetes have been shown to have poorer feed conversion, an increased number of weak chicks, slower growth and a poorer feed digestion than the offspring of flocks where spirochaetes are not present (Smit et al, 1998).…”

Vaccination with an autogenous bacterin fails to prevent colonization by Brachyspira intermedia in experimentally infected laying chickens

“…Broiler flocks derived from infected breeders may show poor feed conversion ratios, a high number of weak chicks, slow growth, and poor feed digestion ( Dwars et al, 1993 andSmith et al, 1998).…”