EFFECT OF BACTERIAL INOCULATION ON NEUTRAL DETERGENT FIBRE DIGESTION AND ENERGY AVAILABILITY IN GERM-FREE CHICKENS

The present study was done to examine whether inoculated and established bacteria in the digestive tract of germ-free (GF) chickens affect growth performance, energy availability, nitrogen utilization and neutral detergent fibre (NDF) digestibility of the host bird fed a high-fibre diet. Gnotobiotic (GB) chicks were made from GF birds by co-inoculating with Ruminococcus albus, and Staphylococcus warneri, only the latter of which was established in the chicken gut. No difference was detected among conventional (CV), GF and GB birds in body weight gain, food intake or food efficiency from 7 to 21 d of age. The amount of nitrogen retained was larger in CV than in GF and GB chicks. DE and ME values of the diet and NDF digestibility were higher in CV birds than in GF and GB counterparts. It was concluded, therefore, that the established bacterium S. warneri did not give any beneficial effects on the host bird as judged by growth performance, energy availability, nitrogen utilization, and NDF digestibility.