Figure 1.

Schematic depicting the experimental design and timeline. For the groups at −3 week, 10 chickens were used in each group; For the groups at 1 d, 5 chickens were used in each group. The eggs were collected at −1 week and 2–6 d; serums were collected at 0 d and 6 d; the tissues were collected at 6 d; the total bacterial load in the air was collected at 3 d and 6 d. Group 1 or S.P, only Salmonella challenged; Group 2 or Con, control group; Phg, only phage treated; S.P + Phg, Salmonella challenged and phage treated.