Use of organic acids and competitive exclusion product as an alternative to antibiotic as a growth promoter in the raising of commercial turkeys.

A study was conducted to investigate the effects of organic acids (OA) and competitive exclusion product (CE) on growth performance, intestinal morphology, and concentration of volatile fatty acids in the cecal content. The experiment lasted for 10 wk. Four hundred twenty 1-d-old female commercial cross turkey poults (British United Turkeys, BUT Big 9) were distributed into 4 treatments with 5 replicates/pen of 21 birds each. The birds were fed a basal diet without growth promoter (control), diet with lincomycin (44 mg/kg), diet with organic acids (2 g/kg), and diet with product of CE (10(9) cfu/kg). Dietary levels of other nutrients, housing, and general management practices were similar for all treatments. On the first week (d 0-7), the BW and BW gain of the birds that fed diets with OA were lower than in the control group. In the fattening phase (d 28-70), the feed intake of the OA-treated group was lower than compared with the control. The birds that received diet with OA and CE product presented higher concentrations of propionic acid, at 14 d, and butyric acid in cecal content at 28, 56, and 70 d, compared with the control. Dietary inclusion of additives had no significant effects on intestinal villus height, crypt depth, and villus:crypt ratio. Organic acids had negative effects either on early gain or feed intake throughout the study. Because the test was conducted under controlled experimental conditions, the additives that showed results similar to those found by using antibiotics should be studied further in commercial farms to obtain results that can be incorporated into practice.

Control of Salmonella Enteritidis in turkeys using organic acids and competitive exclusion product.

AIM: To evaluate the use of organic acids (OAs) and competitive exclusion (CE) product administered continuously in the feed and transiently in drinking water on the control of Salmonella enterica subspecie enterica serotype Enteritidis (SE) prior to slaughter. METHODS AND RESULTS: The influence of treatments were evaluated on pH, population of the lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae, concentration of volatile fatty acids and SE colonization in the crop and caecum. The birds were challenged with SE 24 h before being slaughtered, and then, the caeca and crop were removed and subjected to SE counts. Continuous administration of OAs reduced the population of bacteria from the Enterobacteriaceae family in both crop and caecum, positively influenced the butyric acid concentration and reduced SE colonization in the caecum. The diet supplemented with CE product positively influenced the quantity of LAB in the crop and caecum, elevated the butyric acid concentration and reduced both Enterobacteriaceae quantity and SE colonization in the caecum. There was no effect from administering the treatments via drinking water on the variables measured. CONCLUSIONS: Continuous supplementation in feed with OAs and CE product reduced SE colonization of the caeca. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Supplementation of OAs and CE product in diet to turkeys can reduce the SE load, potentially leading to a lower contamination risk of meat during slaughter.