HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Timmerman, H. M. Articles by Beynen, A. C. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Timmerman, H. M. Articles by Beynen, A. C.

Mortality and Growth Performance of Broilers Given Drinking Water Supplemented with Chicken-Specific Probiotics

H. M. Timmerman^*,, A. Veldman, E. van den Elsen, F. M. Rombouts^# and A. C. Beynen^*,1

^* Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, PO Box 80152, 3508 TD Utrecht, The Netherlands; Research and Development Department, Winclove Bio Industries B.V., PO Box 37239, 1030 AE Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Schothorst Feed Research, PO Box 8200 AM Lelystad, The Netherlands; Research and Development Department, Fransen mengvoeders B.V., PO Box 30, 5469 ZG Erp, The Netherlands; and ^# Laboratory of Food Microbiology, Department of Agrotechnology and Food Sciences, Wageningen University, PO Box 8129, 6700 EV Wageningen, The Netherlands

¹ Corresponding author: a.c.beynen{at}vet.uu.nl

For application in broiler production, we developed a multispecies (MSPB) and a chicken-specific (CSPB) probiotic preparation in fluid form. The MSPB contained different probiotic species of human origin, whereas the CSPB consisted of 7 Lactobacillus species isolated from the digestive tract of chickens. In a field trial with broilers, MSPB treatment resulted in a slight increase (by 1.84%) in broiler productivity based on an index taking into account daily weight gain, feed efficiency, and mortality. The CSPB treatment reduced mortality in 2 subsequent field trials and raised productivity by 2.94 and 8.70%. In a controlled trial with broilers showing a high index of productivity, probiotic treatment further raised productivity by 3.72%. Based on the present 4 studies in combination with 9 studies published earlier, it is suggested that with higher productivity rates of the broilers the effect of probiotics becomes smaller.

Key Words: broiler • multispecies probiotic • chicken-specific probiotic • feed efficiency

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. E. Higgins, G. F. Erf, J. P. Higgins, S. N. Henderson, A. D. Wolfenden, G. Gaona-Ramirez, and B. M. Hargis Effect of Probiotic Treatment in Broiler Chicks on Intestinal Macrophage Numbers and Phagocytosis of Salmonella Enteritidis by Abdominal Exudate Cells Poult. Sci., November 1, 2007; 86(11): 2315 - 2321. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]