Table 1.
Clinical changes and mortality rates in broiler chicken groups challenged with infectious bronchitis
| Day/s post challenge | Prevalence of clinical manifestations/deaths | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group P (n = 20) | Group AO (n = 20) | Group P&AO (n = 20) | Group C (n = 20) | |
| 1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 |
| 2 | 0/0 | 2/0 | 1/0 | 0/0 |
| 3 | 11/0 | 10/0 | 12/0 | 14/0 |
| 4 | 10/0 | 9/0 | 12/0 | 14/0 |
| 5 | 7/0 | 5/0 | 7/0 | 8/0 |
| 6 | 1/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 2/0 |
| 7 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/1 |
| 8 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 |
| 9 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 |
| 10 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 |
| 11 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 |
| 12 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/1 |
| 13 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 |
| 14 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 |
| 21 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 |
| Mortality % | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
1 Group P – supplemented with the probiotics Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus plantarum and Pediococcus acidilactici; prebiotic fructooligosaccharides and the prebiotics inulin, maltodextrin and oligofructose; vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12, C, K3 and folic acid, and glucose and silica; Group AO – treated with the antibiotics enrofloxacin, fortamox and trimsulfasol; Group P&AO – supplemented with probiotics, prebiotics and vitamins and treated with antibiotics; Group C – not supplemented nor treated with antibiotics
Table 2.
Results of necropsy of four broiler chicken groups challenged with infectious bronchitis
| Group | n | gizzard | intestines | liver | spleen | BF | kidneys | lungs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 10 | 0 | **2/10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | **1 |
| AO | 10 | 6/10 | ***3/10 | ****8/10 | 0 | 0 | ****5/10 | **2 |
| ****5/10 | ||||||||
| P&AO | 10 | 0 | ***2/10 | ****6/0 | 0 | 0 | ****6/10 | **2 |
| ****4/10 | ||||||||
| C | 10 | 0 | **2/10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | **2 |
1 BF – Bursa of Fabricius ; Group P – supplemented with the probiotics Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus plantarum and Pediococcus acidilactici; prebiotic fructooligosaccharides and the prebiotics inulin, maltodextrin and oligofructose; vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12, C, K3 and folic acid, and glucose and silica; Group AO – treated with the antibiotics enrofloxacin, fortamox and trimsulfasol; Group P&AO – supplemented with probiotics, prebiotics and vitamins and treated with the antibiotics enrofloxacin, fortamox and trimsulfasol; Group C – not supplemented nor treated with antibiotics
Fig. 1
A-G. Statistical analysis of body weight in chickens from control and experimental groups. Group P – supplemented with the probiotics Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus plantarum and Pediococcus acidilactici; prebiotic fructooligosaccharides and the prebiotics inulin, maltodextrin and oligofructose; vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12, C, K3 and folic acid, and glucose and silica; Group AO – treated with the antibiotics enrofloxacin, fortamox and trimsulfasol; Group P&AO – supplemented with probiotics, prebiotics and vitamins and treated with antibiotics; Group C – not supplemented nor treated with antibiotics. Statistical analysis was carried out using the Mann–Whitney U test and where possible, Student’s t-test. The normality of distributions was tested with the Shapiro-Wilk test, and the homogeneity of variance with Levene’s and the Brown-Forsythe tests. The relationships described a level of α = 0.05