Specific essential oil (EO) blends and probiotics used as feed additives have been shown to promote healthy digestive microbials resulting in improved poultry production. Two consecutive experiments were conducted with broilers fed corn-soybean meal diets to determine comparative effects of feed additives on ileal and caecal microbial populations…

This pilot analysis was conducted with data from 52 conventional grow-out broiler flocks in a prospective field observational study in the southeastern United States during 2003–2006. Each flock was sampled for Salmonella 1 wk before the end of grow-out, upon arrival at the processing plant, and during processing (prior to and immediately after…

Host defense peptides (HDPs) constitute a large group of natural broad-spectrum antimicrobials and an important first line of immunity in virtually all forms of life. Specific augmentation of synthesis of endogenous HDPs may represent a promising antibiotic-alternative approach to disease control. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that…

Neonatal poultry exhibit a transient susceptibility to infectious diseases during the first week of life that stems from inefficient host defense mechanisms. Yet, the initial host immune response to pathogens is a critical determinant of disease resistance and susceptibility. With this context in mind, novel ways to stimulate or modulate the…

An experiment consisting of two identically designed trials was conducted to determine the nutrient composition and AMEn content of distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) in order to develop prediction equations for AMEn in broilers. Fifteen samples of DDGS ranging in ether extract (EE) from 3.15 to 13.23% (DM-basis) were collected from…

In this study, 2 experiments determined the effects of increasing dietary concentrations of deoxynivalenol (DON) on performance, intestinal morphology, and measures of innate immunity in broilers and turkeys. For experiment 1, the 3-wk study used 5 concentrations of DON (up to 18 or 10 mg of DON/kg of feed in broilers or turkeys, respectively) from…

Coccidiosis causes mucosal damage and predisposes birds to enteropathogen infection. In this study pyrosequencing was used to evaluate effects of coccidiosis on the intestinal microflora of broilers given diets without feed additives or supplemented with either a growth promotant antibiotic and an ionophore, or two essential oil blends. DNA samples…

Commercial producers and nutritionists have questioned the performance consequences of sulfur (S) from various dietary and water sources combined in current commercial production. The combination of high S containing feed ingredients, including dried distiller’s grains with solubles (DDGS) and dietary additives that contain S such as lysine sulfate…

The present study was conducted to evaluate the function of Bacillus subtilis-based direct-fed microbials (DFMs) on macrophage functions, i.e., nitric oxide (NO) production and phagocytosis in broiler chickens. DFMs used in this study were eight single strains designated as Bs2084, LSSAO1, 3AP4, Bs18, 15AP4, 22CP1, Bs27, and Bs278, and one multiple…

Broiler digestive tract fungal communities have gained far less scrutiny than that given corresponding bacterial communities. Attention given poultry-associated fungi have focused primarily on feed-associated toxinproducers, yeast, and yeast products. The current project focused on the use of pyrosequencing and denaturing gradient gel…

The present study reports the effects of various field anticoccidial programs on the distribution of Eimeria spp. in poultry litter and serum antibody titers against coccidia in broiler chickens raised on the used litters. The programs included in ovo vaccination and various medications with either chemicals, ionophores, or both. In general, serum…

Lysine is frequently a first- or second-limiting amino acid in poultry diets. Improving the efficiency of lysine use for protein synthesis would effectively lower the lysine requirement and decrease feed costs. Understanding how lysine is degraded and how the degradation is regulated would identify potential molecular targets for interventions to…

Formalin-fixed suspect tumors were submitted to the Poultry Diagnostic and Research Center at the University of Georgia (Athens, GA) for diagnosis. Samples were from fancy breed chickens with a history of increased tumor prevalence in both hens and roosters. Microscopically, in all the samples, there were neoplastic proliferations of spindle-shaped…

This study was conducted to develop antimicrobial coatings to decontaminate and prevent cross-contamination of shell eggs. Egg shells were inoculated with nalidixic acid resistant Salmonella enterica Enteritidis strains OB030832, OB040159, and C405, and then treated with antimicrobial coatings. Polylactic acid (PLA) served as a non-edible polymer…

Highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza viruses currently circulating in birds have caused hundreds of human infections, and pose a significant pandemic threat. Vaccines are a major component of the public health preparedness for this likely event. The rapid evolution of H5N1 viruses has resulted in the emergence of multiple clades with distinct…

Comparative sequence analysis of six independent chicken and turkey parvovirus nonstructural (NS) genes revealed specific genomic regions with 100% nucleotide sequence identity. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay with primers targeting these conserved genome sequences proved to be highly specific and sensitive to detecting parvoviruses in…

This study was conducted to compare the gene expression profiles, after Eimeria maxima infection, between 2 B-complex congenic lines of Fayoumi chickens that display differences in disease resistance and innate immunity against avian coccidiosis using cDNA microarray. When compared with uninfected controls using a cutoff of >2.0-fold alteration (P…

Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli are the most important human enteropathogens among the campylobacters. The objective of this study was to determine how diversity in Campylobacter populations found on chicken carcasses collected from 17 broiler processing plants in the United States is impacted by processing. Genetic diversity was…

Campylobacter jejuni is one of the most important causes of human diarrhea worldwide. In the present work, multilocus sequence typing was used to study the genotypic diversity of 145 C. jejuni isolates from 135 chicken meat preparations sampled across Belgium. Isolates were further typed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, and their…

A real-time reverse transcription PCR (RRT-PCR) targeting a highly conserved HA2 H7 region was developed for the detection of all H7 subtype avian influenza viruses (PanH7). The wide phylogenetic scope and analytical sensitivity and specificity were validated with the use of a panel of 56 diverse influenza A viruses. The detection limit was…