Figure 4.

Effects of maternal treatment in the next generation on gain-feed ratio (G:F), E. maxima lesion scores and C. perfringens lesion scores, after the Necrotic enteritis (NE) challenge. The NE challenge consists of a E. maxima challenge at 7 days of age and a C. perfringens challenge at 14 days of age. A) Representation of the G:F from d 14 to d 21. Offspring related to the LPS-treated mother hens become more efficient in using feed after the NE challenge compared to the control group. N = 6 pens per treatment with 15 hens per pen. Data is represented as lsmeans. Effects are represented as superscripts and were considered to be significant when P ≤ 0.05. (B) Representation of the Necrotic enteritis lesion scores on d 15, 1 d after the C. perfringens challenge and 8 d after the E. maxima challenge. Data is represented as percentage of the total number of animals per treatment group. The distinction between the severeness of the intestinal lesions was also included in the figure (not included in statistical analysis). Zero indicates no lesions and 3 indicates the most severe intestinal lesions. More chicks showed E. maxima lesions that are related to the LPS treated broiler breeders compared to the control (P < 0.05). However, no significant effect of the C. perfringens infection was found with respect to the intestinal lesions. N = 6 pens per treatment with 2 hens per pen.