Abstract
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of sea urchin shell powder, used in broiler diet, on Esherichia coli and Salmonella in litter produced by the broilers. A total of 120 broiler chickens were fed 1 of 3 treatment diets (10 chickens per pen) in a randomized block design treatments with 4 replications. Sea urchin shell powder was used in the concentrations of 0.5% and 1% in the basal diets; the control diet was constituted of basal diet. During the 3-week feeding trials, none of the treatments significantly affected the E. coli populations in poultry litter at weeks 0 and 1, nor did they affect the and S. enterica populations at weeks 1 and 3. However, dietary sea urchin shell powder addition affected the population of E. coli at weeks 2 and 3, and that of S. entericaat weeks 0 and 2 (P<0.05). It is therefore concluded that the use of dietary sea urchin shell powder (0.5% and 1%) will be beneficial enough to reduce E. coli, rather than S. enterica in poultry litter over short-term periods.