Analysis of the influence of the microbial load of poultry facilities on the development of keel “mins” in turkeys

The balanced composition of the microflora in the poultry's environment is one factor that ensures the normal functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, immune, and other systems and supports the body's homeostasis. Instead, an imbalance can lead to the development of specific pathologies in the bird. Currently, in the conditions of industrial poultry farming, studying the influence of the microbial environment of poultry houses on the health and development of birds is a relevant and important topic of scientific research. The obtained results make it possible to solve the critical tasks of the industry, aimed at creating conditions that will provide the opportunity to achieve maximum indicators of poultry productivity and the quality of the obtained products. The work aimed to investigate the dynamics of the quantitative and qualitative composition of the microflora in individual facilities of poultry houses (air, walls and litter) throughout the entire cycle of growing turkeys and to further determine the role of isolated microorganisms in the etiology of keel “mins”. As a result of the research, it was established that the microbial load of the air in the poultry houses of the experimental farms during the growing turkeys was, on average, in the range from 5.13 ± 0.11 to 5.19 ± 0.88 log CFU/m3. The smallest amount of microflora in the air was determined in the period up to 30 days after the landing of the poultry; it was from 4.76 ± 1.23 to 4.95 ± 1.07 lg CFU/m3. The maximum values of the microbial load were from 60 to 90 days when 1 m3 contained from 5.35 ± 1.20 to 5.41 ± 0.17 lg CFU. From the 91st day until the end of the production cycle, a decrease in the microbial load of poultry houses' air was noted, from 2.5 to 3.9 %. The load of the walls and litter with microorganisms was also the lowest at the initial stage and was, respectively, from 4.12 ± 0.62 to 4.34 ± 0.46 lg CFU/cm3 of wash and from 5.15 ± 0.73 to 6.17 ± 0.96 CFU/h. However, unlike air, their load with microorganisms increased throughout the entire production cycle, reached maximum values at the final stage, and ranged from 5.23 ± 0.51 to 5.26 ± 0.65 lg CFU/cm3 of washing and from 9.16 ± 0.53 to 11.74 ± 1.12 CFU/g. During the entire production cycle, the microbial load of the walls of the poultry houses of the experimental farms and their litter was in the range from 4.80 ± 0.20 to 4.95 ± 0.26 lg CFU/cm3 of washing and from 7.06 ± 0.73 to 8. 93 ± 1.02 CFU/g. 13 types of microorganisms represented the microbial landscape of the studied objects. Its prominent representatives in the air were E. coli, Staphylococsus spp., Streptococcus spp., Proteus sрp. and Clostridium sрp., their share was 39.1, respectively; 18.5; 16.9; 16.6 and 5.4 %. E. coli was 43.6 and 43.4 % on the walls and litter, and Staphylococsus spp. – 17.1 and 16.9 %. Unlike air, Proteus sрp. (15.9 and 16.9 %), followed by Streptococcus spp. (15.3 and 12.8 %) and Clostridium sрp. (4.6 and 7.2 %). The number of other isolated microorganisms, including Aspergillus spp., Campilobacter sрp., Penicillium spp., P. aerugenosae, Enterobacter sрp., Yersinia sрp., Mucor spp. and Klebsiella sрp. Did not exceed 1 % for all the studied objects.