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Examining Pathogenesis And Preventatives In Spontaneous And Staphylococcus-Induced Bacterial Chondronecrosis With Osteomyelitis In Broilers, Nnamdi Simon Ekesi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Bacterial chondronecrosis with osteomyelitis is the most important cause of lameness in broilers. This is important to poultry production, as it poses animal welfare issues, and causes a significant loss in revenue. The remediation of this disease requires the study of its etiology with fitting models and evaluating preventatives. The research reported herein covers genomic virulence analysis of BCO isolates, mainly Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli retrieved from lame birds. We found that S. aureus isolates were closest to chicken strains in Europe but may have been in the Arkansas area for a decade. Phylogenomics suggest our S. aureus is …

Investigating The Potential Of Microbial Metabolites And Mtor Signaling On Chicken Necrotic Enteritis, Mohit Bansal

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Necrotic enteritis (NE), caused by C. perfringens and coccidiosis, is responsible for substantial economic loss annually. In the first chapter, we investigated the effect of secondary bile acid on necrotic enteritis. Day-old broiler chicks were randomly assigned to 5 groups of diets supplemented with 0 (basal diet), 0.8, 1.0, and 1.5 g/kg (on top of basal diet) deoxycholic acid (DCA). The birds were challenged with Eimeria maxima (20,000 oocysts/bird) at d 18 and C. perfringens (109CFU/bird/day) at d 23 and d 24 to induce NE. Birds were sacrificed at d 26, and ileal tissue and digesta samples were collected. DCA …

Evaluation Of Selected Bacillus Direct-Fed Microbial Candidates In Reduced Energy Diets On Live Performance, Carcass Characteristics, And Foot Pad Dermatitis, Kyle Teague

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Bacillus spp. are ubiquitous, Gram-positive, spore forming bacteria that are commonly recovered from the environment and gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of poultry. These spores are capable of withstanding harsh condition such as feed pelletization, which facilitates inclusion in poultry feeds. Once ingested by the bird, spores germinate into metabolically active vegetative cells which can produce extracellular enzymes which can hydrolyze otherwise indigestible components of the feed. Soybean meal (SBM) is the gold standard vegetable protein source for non-ruminant animals worldwide and is included in practically all poultry diets in the United States at levels ranging from 10 to more than 30%. …

Effects Of Long-Term Variation In Temperature On Reproductive Phenology In A Population Of Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia Sialis), Paul Pleiman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the relationship between multiple temperature variables, to include annual and pre-lay date temperatures with first-egg and mean first-egg lay dates of the eastern bluebird at the Warner Parks in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. Data is collected by citizen scientists for the Eastern Bluebird Nesting Box Project while visiting artificial nest boxes throughout the park and recording observations made during the breeding season. Temperature data is retrieved from the Northwest Alliance for Computational Science and Engineering’s Parameter-elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM) Climate Group, based at Oregon State University. The analyses showed no correlation between annual or pre-lay …

The Use Of Inorganic And Organic Acids As Short Duration Antimicrobial Dips On Mitigating Pathogens Present On Commercial Chicken During Peri-Harvest, Dana Kristen Dittoe

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With poultry being the most consumed meat in the United States, poultry processors must provide consumers with safe, wholesome products. As a consequence, poultry processors are faced with the challenge of reducing the presence of foodborne pathogens such as Salmonella spp. and Campylobacter jejuni among raw poultry products. Though multi-hurdle approaches using antimicrobials are placed throughout processing to reduce these pathogens, Salmonella and C. jejuni still persist among raw poultry. Thus, it was the objective of the current dissertation to investigate various antimicrobials, organic and inorganic acids, as short duration dips and sprays as means to reduce common pathogens (Salmonella, …

Characterization Of Growth Patterns And Meat Quality Characteristics Of Four Commercial Broiler Strains In Small Bird And Large Bird Programs In The United States, Clay Johnny Maynard

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Through current trends in animal protein consumption, the United States poultry industry has seen a drastic rise in production and popularity. Over the last few decades, poultry meat has surpassed both beef and pork production to become the most widely consumed animal protein. This rise may be accredited to an increased transition to more health-conscious consumers. As more consumers purchase poultry as a lean source of protein, the need for a superior quality product is of great interest to poultry integrators.

Relationships between commercial broiler lines have been well documented in previous years, but constant and intensive genetic selection in …

Fate And Dissemination Of Salmonella Reading In Market-Age Turkeys At Processing Using Oral Gavage Challenge Model, Aaron Ashcraft

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study aimed to evaluate the fate and dissemination of Salmonella Reading (SR) in market-age turkeys using an oral gavage challenge model. One hundred twenty-eight-week-old commercial turkey hens were moved from commercial production to research facilities. Upon arrival, a combination of enrofloxacin, 10 mg/kg, and florfenicol, 20 mg/kg, were orally administered sequentially before comingled placement on fresh pine shavings. Turkeys were challenged with 108 cfu SR by oral gavage on days 4 and 7 post-placement. Subsets were subjected to simulated commercial processing on days 14 (n=40), 21 (n=40) and 28 (n=32) post-placement (corresponding to 10, 11, and 12 weeks of …

Distillers Dried Grains With Solubles: Determination Of Metabolizable Energy Values Using Regression-Based Assays And Their Correlation With Chemical Composition, Kenia Mitre

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The inherent variability and lack of standardization of in vivo assays to determine the metabolizable energy (ME) of DDGS has led to inconsistent values and limited its potential to use in broiler diets. Therefore, two experiments were conducted to characterize the content of nitrogen-corrected ME (MEn) in 11 DDGS sources obtained from various ethanol plants using a regression-based broiler assay and to attempt to develop equations to predict MEn based on its chemical composition. In experiment 1, the objectives were to determine the influence of inclusion level and feed intake on the resulting ME and MEn values of a single …

Nutritional Strategies For Feeding Broiler Breeders On Hen And Progeny Performance, Antonio Beitia

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Over the last 60 plus years, broiler breeders have been under an incredible amount of genetic pressure. This genetic pressure comes from the continually increasing consumer demand for poultry products. The objective of this dissertation is to understand the effects of different nutritional and management practices on broiler breeder’s performance. The first series of experiments investigate the impact of broilerization on hen and early progeny performance. Broilerization is a process only used by genetic companies. The results from these experiments showed the adverse effects of broilerization on chick quality and hen performance. Follow up trials were performed to determine the …

Effects Of Supplementing Crystalline L-Valine And L-Isoleucine And A Novel Threonine Biomass In Reduced Crude Protein Diets Fed To Broilers, Derrell Trevor Lee

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Poultry nutritionists continue to identify methods to lower feed price without compromising broiler growth performance, processing yields, or animal well-being. A common approach is to reduce dietary crude protein (CP), the second most expensive component in a broiler diet. Subsequently, reducing CP will reduce the inclusion levels of intact protein sources (e.g., soybean meal [SBM]), which can be accomplished by supplementing individual amino acids (AA). This methodology not only reduces diet cost, pending if feed-grade AA are more economical, but can contribute to improving broiler health and environmental sustainability. Therefore, two experiments were conducted to evaluate individual feed-grade AA in …

Metatranscriptomics Analysis Of Ileum Microbial Communities In Necrotic Enteritis Chickens, Ruchita Uttarwar

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Necrotic enteritis (NE) is a recognized multifactorial disease that causes an annual loss of $6 billion to the poultry industry. Thus, it has become essential to carry a comprehensive study of the composition of chicken gut which hosts this disease. The objective of this research is to measure the changes occurring in microbiome inside intestinal ilium of NE affected broilers which were treated with tributyrin supplement. This supplement is an anti-inflammatory metabolite that stabilizes intestinal integrity. The experimental design consisted of two challenge groups (No -Challenge, Clostridium Perfringens (CP) - Challenge) and one treatment group (tributyrin). To our knowledge, this …

Development Of Arkansas Net Energy Equation, Katie Hilton

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The modern broiler is growing at a rapid rate generating tremendous amounts of heat. A sensitive Net Energy (NE) system is needed to measure body heat production (HP) generated primarily by daily maintenance and synthesis and degradation of myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic protein. The first two chapters present evaluation of the classic way to calculate NE versus a new methodology; the Arkansas NE (Ark NE) system, with birds from two genetic lines fed diets with different AA content or different ME content in two different environmental temperatures.

Utilizing together the Net Energy maintenance (NEm), determined from indirect calorimetry, and Net Energy …

Investigating The Potential Of Sodium Butyrate To Control Salmonella Enteritidis In Poultry, Anamika Gupta

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) is a major poultry associated food borne pathogen that causes enteric illnesses in humans. Despite using various pre-harvest and post-harvest intervention strategies to reduce Salmonellosis, SE infection is still an extensive problem in the poultry industry with increased incidences since SE has developed multiple strategies to adapt in the chicken intestinal tract particularly in the ceca. Therefore, reducing SE in the intestine of chickens would reduce contamination of poultry derived foods and minimize the risk of human infection. Short chain fatty acids such as butyrate are microbial metabolites known to modulate inflammatory response. In this dissertation, the …

Microbiota Characterization Of Poultry Processing Systems And Associated Microbiological Sampling Materials Collected At Commercial Processing Facilities, Jennifer A. Wages

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The poultry industry and associated regulatory bodies use whole bird carcass (WBC) rinsates to evaluate different stages of broiler processing systems for the prevalence of food-borne pathogens, including Salmonella spp. and Campylobacter spp. Within industry and research groups, the same sample collections are enumerated to determine E. coli, Enterobacteriaceae (EB), and Aerobic Plate Count (APC) microorganisms. Analysis of these indicator microorganisms provides numerical data that can be used to demonstrate the effects of specific process control steps where low occurrences of target pathogens hinder the exclusive use of prevalence data. With the utilization of next generation sequencing (NGS), including analysis …

Evaluation Of Microbiome On Chicken Necrotic Enteritis And Growth Performance, Mussie Abraha

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Necrotic enteritis (NE) has re-emerged following restriction of antimicrobial usage and costs $6 billion every year worldwide. The primary objective of the studies was to evaluate prevention and treatment of NE using a microbiota metabolic product, secondary bile acid deoxycholic acid (DCA), in drinking water. Day-old birds were tagged and placed in floor pens. In experiments 1 and 2, the birds were infected with Eimeria maxima (Em) at d 18 and C. perfringens at d 23 and 24 and the birds were euthanized at d 26. In experiment 3, birds were infected with Eimeria at d 20 and C. perfringens …

Detection Of Woody Breast Condition In Broiler Carcasses And Product Utilization In Further Processing, Juan Pablo Caldas Cueva

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Woody Breast (WB) myopathy causes significant economic losses to the global poultry industry and the lack of objective, non-invasive and rapid methods for its detection as well as profitable alternatives for its utilization are contributing factors. This dissertation is divided into two main areas. The first area aimed to determine if there are carcass conformation changes that can be used to identify WB characteristics in commercial broilers using image analysis. In the first experiment, images of broiler carcasses were captured before evisceration to obtain and evaluate carcass measurements from the breast region. Eight image measurements and four ratios were used …

Lesioning Of The Nucleus Of The Hippocampal Commissure Followed By Food Deprivation Stress In Birds Demonstrates Simultaneous Involvement In Both The Hypothalamo-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis And The Hypothalamo-Pituitary-Thyroid Axis, Michael Thomas Kidd Jr.

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is the regulatory system for the neuroendocrine stress response within vertebrates. Within the HPA axis corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) is a major regulator and driving hormone. A structure named the nucleus of the hippocampal commissure (NHpC) has been found to contain CRH neurons and also these neurons respond to early food deprivation stress significantly prior to the paraventricular nucleus (PVN), the major driving nucleus of the classic neuroendocrine HPA axis. The objective of this study was to perform a knock down of the NHpC via electrolytic lesioning, thus eliminating a significant portion of its population of …