Temporary feed restriction partially protects broilers from necrotic enteritis

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of feed restriction on the intestinal ecosystem and on the pathogenesis of experimental necrotic enteritis in broiler chicks. To induce subclinical necrotic enteritis, an experimental challenge model using a specific diet formulation, Gumboro vaccination, oral inoculation of broilers with a 10-fold dose of attenuated anticoccidial vaccine and multiple oral inoculations with a specific strain of Clostridium perfringens was adopted. Two hundred and forty 1-day-old Cobb 500 broilers were randomly allocated to four groups: feed restricted, challenged, both feed restricted and challenged, and negative control. At 21, 22, 23 and 24 days of age, the intestines, gizzard and liver were collected from 15 birds in each group and scored for gross lesions. The intestinal digesta was collected for pH and viscosity determination. One caecum from each bird was taken for microbiological analysis. The application of feed restriction in birds challenged with C. perfringens reduced the necrotic enteritis lesion score significantly (P ≤ 0.05) and feed restriction significantly reduced (P ≤ 0.05) pH in the small intestine, the viscosity of the jejunum digesta as well as the C. perfringens counts in the caeca compared with the controls. In conclusion, feed restriction of broilers has a positive effect on the intestinal ecosystem and a significant protective effect against necrotic enteritis in the subclinical experimental model.

High stocking density as a predisposing factor for necrotic enteritis in broiler chicks

“…Broilers in all groups were fed a specially formulated three phase ration (starter 1-9 days, grower 10-16 days and finisher 17-24 days), which included large quantities of wheat and rye and has been described elsewhere (Tsiouris et al, 2014). In the finisher ration, fishmeal replaced the soybean meal as the protein source.…”

Intestinal microbiota of broilers submitted to feeding restriction and its relationship to hepatic metabolism and fat mass: Fast‐growing strain

“…It was also used as an alternative method to decrease broiler mortality in high temperature conditions. The aim of feed restriction was to limit feed intake to reduce the nutrient load in the gastrointestinal tract, changing its physicochemical properties (Tsiouris et al, ), modulating animal metabolism, and improving long‐term feed efficiency. As restriction leads to metabolic disturbances, it has been widely used in poultry as a stress model, to understand specific metabolic processes (Proszkowiec‐Weglarz, Richards, Humphrey, Rosebrough, & McMurtry, ; Song et al, ).…”

“…If feed restriction can modulate the animal metabolism by modifying feeding efficiency, changes in the gut bacterial communities would be expected to follow. Few feed restriction studies have aimed at understanding the intestinal microbiota and the results show that decreasing the available nutrient load decreases specific gut pathogen proliferation (Akbarian et al, ; Tsiouris et al, ).…”

The influence of food restriction on the small bowel: Does intensive short‑term food restriction lead to weight loss?

“…Other groups' fi ndings are in concordance with these observations and have been ascribed to gastrointestinal immunity modulation and gut microbiota (12,13). The work of Tsiouris et al shows that feed restriction of broiler chicks has a positive effect on the intestinal ecosystem and signifi cant protective effect against necrotic enteritis in a subclinical experimental model (14). The results of Knudsen et al show that feed-restricted rabbits tended to have greater expressions of interleukin and lower expressions of tumour necrosis factor-α, suggesting that food restriction can modulate gut immunity (15).…”