Commercial 18-day-old incubating chicken embryos were inoculated with total or diluted cecal microbiota and Lactobacillus salivarius cultures directly into the inner air sac. Two days after hatching, the chicks were challenged with Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (SE), and five days later the presence of bacteria in cecum and liver was evaluated. The competitive exclusion effect was determined by the search for SE in the liver of chicks treated in ovo with L. salivarius and challenged with SE. The in ovo inoculation of total or diluted cecal microbiota, in addition to the L. salivarius treatment did not significantly decrease the colonization of SE in liver and cecum. All treatments resulted in hatchability of 65% or less.
chicken; Salmonella enterica; Lactobacillus salivarius; anaerobic cecal microflora; competitive exclusion; in ovo
