Influence of the prebiotic Salgard and a herb mixture on Pekin ducklings in organic poultry production: 2. Histological and microbiological investigation
2011
Gerzilov, V., Agricultural University, Plovdiv (Bulgaria). Department of Animal Science | Penchev, G., Trakia University, Stara Zagora (Bulgaria). Department of Veterinary Anatomy, Histology and Embriology | Lyutskanov, M., Trakia University, Stara Zagora (Bulgaria). Department of Veterinary Microbiology, Infectious and Parasitic Diseases | Bochukov, A., Agricultural University, Plovdiv (Bulgaria). Department of Animal Science | Bozakova, N., Trakia University, Stara Zagora (Bulgaria). Department of Department of Animal Husbandry, | Popova-Ralcheva, S., Agricultural Academy, Sofia (Bulgaria). Institute for Information Serving of the System | Sredkova, V., Agricultural Academy, Sofia (Bulgaria). Institute for Information Serving of the System
The purpose of this investigation was to study the influence of the prebiotic Salgard and an herb mixture (rosemary, thyme, basil, oregano and cinnamon) on the histostructure of some internal organs and on the intestinal microflora of Pekin ducklings in an organic production system. Seventy two Pekin ducklings distributed randomly into 3 groups of 24 birds each and sexed (12 males and 12 females) were used as followed: group 1 (control) fed a standard diet; group 2 – fed the same diet supplemented with the prebiotic Salgard at a concentration of 0.15 %, and group 3 – fed the same diet supplemented with 0.15 % of a herb mixture in an equal proportion (0.03% of each herb – rosemary, thyme, basil, oregano and cinnamon). At slaughter, material for histological examination was obtained from the ileum, the caeca, the liver and the kidneys of birds. Faecal content from the ileum and the caeca were submitted to microbiological analysis. The addition of Salgard in a concentration of 0.15 % to the diet of Pekin ducklings contributed to significant increasing the length of the villi intestinales (P is less than 0.001) and diameter of intestinal glands (P is less than 0.01) in the ileum and epithelial height (P is less than 0.05) in the caeca, as well as with a reduction of pathogenic intestinal microorganisms in the birds that received the prebiotic and herb mixture.
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