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ARS Home » Plains Area » College Station, Texas » Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center » Food and Feed Safety Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #251232
Title: Lighting during grow-out and Salmonella in broiler flocks

Author
item VOLKOVA, VICTORIYA - University Of Edinburgh
item Byrd Ii, James - Allen
item HUBBARD, SUE - Mississippi State University
item MAGEE, DANNY - Mississippi State University
item BAILEY, RICHARD - Mississippi State University
item WILLS, ROBERT - Mississippi State University

Submitted to: Acta Veterinaria
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/29/2010
Publication Date: 7/29/2010
Citation: Volkova, V.V., Byrd II, J.A., Hubbard, S.A., Magee, D., Bailey, R.H., Wills, R.W. 2010. Lighting during grow-out and Salmonella in broiler flocks. Acta Veterinaria. 52:46-52.

Interpretive Summary: Lighting is used during broiler grow-out to modify bird behavior to reach the goals of production. The protocols for lighting intensity vary. In a field project, we evaluated how providing supplemental lights will reduce the number of Salmonella in broiler chickens. Commercial chicken flocks reared in the U.S. states of Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas in 2003 to 2006 were sampled one week before slaughter by collecting rinses of the carcass and part of the gastrointestinal tract from each of 30 birds and during slaughter by collecting rinsate of 30 slaughtered chickens before and after chilling. Litter samples were collected from the grow-out houses after bird harvest. Lighting protocols were obtained with a questionnaire completed by the growers. Associations between the lighting practices and the level of Salmonella in broiler flocks were investigated while accounting for differences between the sampled farms, their production complexes, and companies. Lower risks of Salmonella on the exteriors of the broilers one week before the end of rearing and on the carcasses after chilling in slaughter were associated with an overall longer duration of reduced lights relative to full lights during grow-out. Therefore, grow-out lighting may impact the number of Salmonella on exteriors of broilers during rearing and on broiler carcasses in processing.

Technical Abstract: Lighting is used during broiler grow-out to modify bird behavior to reach the goals of production. The protocols for lighting intensity vary. In a field project, we evaluated if the lighting protocol impacts the burden of Salmonella in grow-out broiler flocks. Conventional grow-out flocks reared in the U.S. states of Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas in 2003 to 2006 were sampled one week before harvest (n=58) and upon arrival for processing (n=54) by collecting feathered carcass rinsate, crop and one cecum from each of 30 birds, and during processing by collecting rinsate of 30 carcasses at pre-chilling and post-chilling points (n=54). Litter samples and drag swabs of litter were collected from the grow-out houses after bird harvest (n=50). Lighting protocols were obtained with a questionnaire completed by the growers. Associations between the lighting practices and the burden of Salmonella in broiler flocks were investigated while accounting for variation between the sampled farms, their production complexes, and companies. Lower risks of Salmonella on the exteriors of the broilers one week before the end of rearing and on the carcasses at post-chilling point in processing were associated with an overall longer duration of reduced lights relative to full lights during grow-out. Therefore, grow-out lighting may impact the burden of Salmonella on exteriors of broilers during rearing and on broiler carcasses in processing.