The effect of inoculating Enterococcus faecalis into the yolk sac on chick quality and maternal antibody absorption

• Published in: Avian diseases 1998-04, Vol.42 (2), p.359-363
• Main Authors: Sander, J.E. (University of Georgia, Athens.), Willinghan, E.M, Wilson, J.L, Thayer, S.G
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; ANTIBODIES; Antibodies, Viral - blood; ANTICORPS; ANTICUERPOS; BLOOD CHEMISTRY; BLOOD COMPOSITION; BLOOD PLASMA; Blood proteins; Blood Proteins - analysis; CALIDAD; CHICKENS; Chickens - anatomy & histology; Chickens - blood; Chickens - physiology; CHICKS; COMPOSICION DE LA SANGRE; COMPOSITION DU SANG; CONTENIDO PROTEICO; Control groups; Egg Yolk - pathology; Eggs; Enterococcus faecalis; Enterococcus faecalis - immunology; EXPERIMENTACION IN VIVO; EXPERIMENTAL INFECTION; EXPERIMENTATION IN VIVO; FEED INTAKE; FETO; FOETUS; Hemagglutination Inhibition Tests - veterinary; Hematocrit - veterinary; IMMUNE SERUM; IMMUNITE MATERNELLE; Immunity, Maternally-Acquired - immunology; IMMUNOLOGIE; IMMUNOLOGY; IMMUNSERUM; IN VIVO EXPERIMENTATION; INFECCION EXPERIMENTAL; INFECTION EXPERIMENTALE; INGESTION DE PIENSOS; INMUNIDAD MATERNAL; INMUNOLOGIA; Inoculation; LIVEWEIGHT; MATERNAL ANTIBODIES; MATERNAL IMMUNITY; Newcastle disease; Newcastle Disease - immunology; NEWCASTLE DISEASE VIRUS; Newcastle disease virus - immunology; PESO; PLASMA SANGUIN; PLASMA SANGUINEO; POIDS; POLLITO; POLLO; POULET; POUSSIN; PRISE ALIMENTAIRE (ANIMAUX); PROTEIN CONTENT; QUALITE; QUALITY; Random Allocation; SEROLOGY; Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms; STREPTOCOCCUS FAECALIS; SUERO INMUNE; TENEUR EN PROTEINES; VIRUS DE LA ENFERMEDAD DE NEWCASTLE; VIRUS MALADIE DE NEWCASTLE; WEIGHT; Yolk sac; Yolk Sac - microbiology
• ISSN: 0005-2086; 1938-4351
• DOI: 10.2307/1592486

Four hundred thirty-two 1-day-old specific-pathogen-free chicks were randomly divided into 36 groups of 12. All chicks were given 0.2 ml of Newcastle disease antiserum (hemagglutination-inhibition [HI] titer 1:5120) by injection into the yolk sac at hatch. Half of the groups received 0.2 ml of Enterococcus faecalis (4.0 x 10(8) colony-forming units/ml) by injection into the yolk sac at hatch (treatment). The remaining 18 groups received no bacteria (control). Two treatment groups and two control groups were weighed, bled, killed, and yolk sac weighed daily for the first 9 days of life. Feed was weighed at placement and at the end of the trial. Blood was tested for packed cell volume (PCV), total plasma protein, and Newcastle disease HI titer. No significant difference was observed between treatment and control groups for chick body weight, PCV, and feed consumption. Total plasma protein and retained yolk weight were significantly higher for treatment groups over control (P 0.01 and P 0.0001, respectively). Also, the geometric mean serum HI titer (log2) for Newcastle disease antibody was significantly higher in the control chicks vs. the treatment chicks (P 0.01)