Diet and housing type appear to influence the population of cecal salmonella, according to researchers from North Carolina State University.

In their study, broilers raised in cages as well as conventional broilers raised on floored litter were fed ground corn soybean meal, coarsely ground corn soybean meal, ground triticale soybean meal or whole triticale soybean meal. (Triticale is a man-made crop developed by crossing wheat and cereal rye). Next a "cocktail" with four strains of Salmonella enterica was orally gavaged into each chick.

At 42-days-old, birds that had received whole or coarsely ground grains had decreased cecal salmonella populations and so did the broilers reared on litter, say F.B. Santos and associates in an article published in the March 2008 issue of Poultry Science.

Broilers raised on litter may have achieved lower cecal salmonella populations than caged birds because access to litter may have modulated intestinal micro flora by increasing competitive exclusion microorganisms, which discouraged salmonella colonization, the investigators conclude.

Spring 2008

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