Descriptive study of the microbial profile of poultry litter from broiler farms with and without a history of gangrenous dermatitis and litter from an experimental poultry house

SUMMARY Gangrenous dermatitis (GD) is an acute disease of broiler chickens caused by Clostridium perfringens and other bacteria. It has been observed that litter clean-out delays recurrence of GD outbreaks in poultry houses by 2 to 3 grow-out cycles, but does not eliminate the problem. Considering that litter in some poultry growing regions in the United States is reused for up to 10 grow-out cycles, a better understanding of the microbial profile of poultry litter in broiler farms with a history of GD (GD-positive), farms with no history of GD (GD-negative), and an experimental poultry house would be beneficial. It was found that the C. perfringens counts in GD-positive farms were significantly higher than in GD-negative farms. It was also observed that C. perfringens counts decline over time during grow-out in an experimental poultry house.