Current Research in Poultry Science2152-21112152-212xScience International10.3923/crpsaj.2012.1.10Salmonella-challenged Broiler Chickens]]>SantosF.B.O. SantosA.A. Oviedo-RondonE.O. FerketP.R. 1201221Rearing chickens on litter floors or in cages may influence their performance, especially when they are colonized by enteric pathogens, such as Salmonella. Male Ross 308 broilers were randomly assigned to 32 litter floor (litter) pens in a curtain-sided house or 32 cages (cages) in a total confinement house (25 birds/pen or cage). Birds were orally inoculated with 106 CFU of a cocktail of S. enterica subsp. enterica at three days of age. Salmonella populations (SP), body weights, feed conversion ratio and the weights of spleen and liver relative to body weight were determined at 14, 28 and 42 days of age. At each time point, characteristics of the intestinal segments were scored as an indicator of gut health on 32 birds per house. SP was higher in litter than cages treatment at 14 days of age which corresponded with a higher incidence of mucoid jejunum exudate. In contrast, cages had higher incidence of ileal grain chips than litter at 14 days, indicating inferior gizzard function. At 42 days of age, litter birds had higher breast meat yield, heavier body weight and improved cumulative feed conversion ratio than those in cages. Although, birds raised on litter floors showed greater 14 day Salmonella colonization than cage-reared birds, their digestion capacity appeared superior. Birds reared on litter floors had fewer undigested feed particles in their distal small intestine which correlates with enhanced growth performance and breast meat yield.]]>Al-Nasser, A.Y., S.F. Al-Zenki, A.E. Al-Saffar, F.K. Abdullah, M.E. Al-Bahouh and M. Mashaly,201110448454Amerah, A.M., V. Ravindran, and R.G. Lentle,200950366375Andrews, L. and T. Goodwin,197352723728Blankenship, L.C., J.S. Bailey, N.A. Cox, N.J. Stern, R. Brewer and O. Williams,1993Salmonellae in commercial broiler chickens.]]>7216671672Brownell, J., W. Sadler and M. Fanelli,1969Salmonella typhimurium.]]>13804816Centers for Disease Control,20052005Corrier, D.E., B.M. Hargis, A.H. Jr. and J.R. DeLoach,1993Salmonella enteritidis colonization of leghorn chicks and hens.]]>374752Darwin, K.H. and V.L. Miller,199912405428Deplancke, B. and H.R. Gaskins,2001731131S1141SEngberg, R.M., M.S. Hedemann, S. Steenfeldt and B.B. Jensen,200483925938Guard-Petter, J.,2001Salmonella enteritidis.]]>3421430Guarner, F. and J.R. Malagelada,2003361512519Hassan, J. and R. Curtiss,1994Salmonella typhimurium-induced lymphocyte depletion and immunosuppression in chickens.]]>6220272036Havenstein, G.B., J.L. Grimes, P.R. Ferket, C.R. Parkhurst, F.W. Edens, J.T. Brake and J.H. van Middelkoop,19981998pp: 225240Henderson, S.C., D.I. Bounous and M.D. Lee, 19996735803586Hetland, H., B. Svihus and A. Krogdahl,200344275282Kogut, M.H.,200918111124Lan, Y., M.W.A. Verstegen, S. Tamminga and B.A. Williams,20056195104Loongyai, W., B. Wiriya and N. Sangsawang,2011Salmonella and Escherichia coli in egg shell and egg content from different housing systems for laying hens.]]>109397Mead, P.S., L. Slutsker, V. Dietz, L.F. McCaig and J.S. Bresee et al.,19995607625Nayak, R.R.,20002000NRC.,19848th Rev. Edn.,Pages: 80Pages: 80Nurmi, E. and M. Rantala,1973Salmonella infection in broiler production.]]>241210211Rathnayaka, R.M.U.S.K.,2011Salmonella by plate count method and fluorescent in situ hybridization technique.]]>6851856Reece, F., J. Deaton and J. May,19715017861790Santos, J.A.A.,20052005Santos, F.B.O., A.A. Santos Jr., P.R. Ferket and B.W. Sheldon,2006Salmonella colonization and shedding of turkeys fed corn-soybean meal diets.]]>5731739Santos, F.B.O., B.W. Sheldon, A.A. Santos Jr. and P.R. Ferket,2008Salmonella colonization and shedding of broilers fed triticale or corn-soybean meal diets.]]>87405420Santos, F.B.O., X. Li, J.B. Payne and B.W. Sheldon,2005Salmonella populations on commercial North Carolina Turkey farms.]]>14700708SAS Institute Inc.,20052005Seidavi, A.R., S.Z. Mirhosseini, M. Shivazad, M. Chamani and A.A. Sadeghi,2008Salmonella sp., Escherichia coli and Bifidobacterium sp. in Chick gastrointestinal tract.]]>3230235Sekeroglu, A., E. Demir, M. Sarica and Z. Ulutas,200912631636Shini, S.,20032357360Sogunle, O.M., L.T. Egbeyale, T.T. Bajomo, O.V. Bamigboje and A.O. Fanimo,200811480483Shivaprasad, H.L., J.F. Timoney, S. Morales, B. Lucio and R.C. Baker,1990Salmonella enteritidis infection in laying chickens. I. Studies on egg transmission, clinical signs, fecal shedding and serologic responses.]]>34548557Sundu, B., A. Kumar and J. Dingle,20087511515Turnbull, P.C. and G.H. Snoeyenbos,197418153177Vicente, J.L., S.E. Higgins, B.M. Hargis and G. Tellez,2007Salmonella enteritidisin broiler chicks.]]>6314317Wabeck, C.J., E.L. Carr and V. Byrd,19943274278Williams, J.E., L.H. Dillard and G.O. Hall,196812445466