An Enzyme - based Protein Digestibility Assay for Animal Production

s of papers 47 tered via water, in preventing necrotic enteritis (NE) in broilers and reducing fecal bacteria. The NE challenge model included: 200,000 Eimeria acervulina oocysts/bird 5d and Clostridium perfringens (CP) 7d posthatch. Healthy, newly-hatched broiler male chicks (Ross x Cobb commercial source) were randomly placed into wire floor cages. Treatments included positive non-infected control (non-medicated), infected control (non-medicated), Aquatize r water treatment (0.05% or 1:2000 dilution) and feed medicated control (salinomycin 66 ppm and bacitracin 55 ppm) offered ad libitum at placement to 10 replicate cages (10 birds/rep, 100 birds/treatment). Birds were weighed on day 21 (end of trial). Broiler chicks receiving no treatment and CP infection had significantly (P< .05) lower body weights, feed conversion, and worse lesion scores than other treatment groups; therefore the model performed as expected. For the test groups receiving either Aquatize r via water or feed medication, performance criteria (body weight and feed conversion), skin pigmentation, mortality, and intestinal lesion scores were similar to the noninfected control. Additionally, Aquatize r resulted in significantly (P< .05) better 21-day intestinal lesion scores and better pigmentation than the feed medication test groups. As compared to infected control (nonmedicated), fecal bacteria counts decreased by 92% with Aquatize r , 11% with non-infected control (non-medicated), and 24% with feed medicated control. Both Aquatize r and feed medication (salinomycin 66 ppm and bacitracin 55 ppm) ameliorated the effect of Clostridium perfringens in broiler chickens reared to 21 days of age.