Effects of a Direct-Fed Microbial (Primalac) on Turkey Poult Performance and Susceptibility to Oral Salmonella Challenge

A study was conducted to determine 1) the effect of a dietary direct-fed microbial (DFM) on turkey poult performance, 2) the effect of a DFM on a Salmonella challenge, and 3) the effect of feed processing on the efficacy of the dietary DFM. Day-of-hatch Large White female poults were placed in 2 rooms in 2 Petersime batteries per room. Twelve pens of 7 birds each were used in each battery (24 pens per room, 336 birds total). One of 4 dietary feed treatments was assigned to each pen (6 pens per room for each diet). One room housed non-Salmonella-challenged poults, and the other room housed poults challenged with a 1-mL oral gavage of Salmonella (10¹⁰ cfu/mL). A single batch of starter ration was split into 4 parts and used to provide 4 dietary treatments: 1) mash feed with no DFM (M), 2) mash feed with DFM (Primalac; 0.9 kg/tonne of feed, MD), 3) pelleted (20-s steam conditioning at 80°C) and crumbled feed with no DFM (C), and 4) pelleted and crumbled feed with DFM (CD). Feed and deionized, distilled water were provided ad libitum. Data were collected and analyzed separately for each room. Mortality was recorded for each pen on a daily basis and totaled by week and for the 3-wk period. Individual BW and feed consumption, by pen, were measured weekly. Weekly and cumulative BW gains and feed to gain ratios (F:G) were calculated. Liver, spleen, total and lower intestinal tract weights, intestinal length, and most-probable-number Salmonella populations were determined for one randomly selected bird per pen. Feeding processed feed resulted in improved BW and F:G. Feeding the DFM improved 3-wk cumulative F:G in birds not gavaged and reduced relative intestinal weight in birds gavaged. Salmonella populations were reduced 1 log by feeding DFM. Dietary DFM improved bird performance, reduced Salmonella populations, and was not affected by feed processing.