Table 3.
Effects of type of litter and direct-fed microbials (DFMs) on serum Clostridium perfringens α-toxin-specific antibody levels in broiler chickens1
| Litter type | DFM | α-Toxin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 d | 28 d | 42 d | ||
| Fresh | − | 0.70 | 0.91 | 1.01 |
| + | 0.86 | 1.04 | 0.87 | |
| Used | − | 0.73 | 0.91 | 0.96 |
| + | 0.67 | 0.93 | 1.00 | |
| GD2 | − | 0.97 | 0.81 | 1.25 |
| + | 0.88 | 0.91 | 1.13 | |
| Pooled SEM3 | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.06 | |
| Main effect means | ||||
| Litter | ||||
| Fresh | 0.78b | 0.97 | 0.94b | |
| Used | 0.70b | 0.92 | 0.98b | |
| GD | 0.92a | 0.86 | 1.20a | |
| DFM | ||||
| − | 0.79 | 0.88 | 1.08 | |
| + | 0.79 | 0.95 | 1.00 | |
| Source of variation | ------------------- p value ------------- | |||
| Litter | 0.005 | 0.190 | 0.001 | |
| DFM | 0.951 | 0.112 | 0.070 | |
| Litter×DFM | 0.107 | 0.620 | 0.117 | |
a,b
Means in the same column within the same factor not sharing a common superscript are significantly different (p<0.05).
1
Each value represents the mean optical density (±SD) of five birds per treatment (n = 5).
2
GD = Gangrenous dermatitis.
3
SEM = Standard error of the mean.