SK278992B6 - Probiotic mixture for supporting the growth of poultry - Google Patents

Abstract

The mixture, described in this patent, is created by the dried, stabile microspheres, being able to live, and called Enterococcus faecium 301 ATCC 55059, based on fat acid and microspeheres Enterococcus faecium 202, ATCC 53519, based on fat acid.

Description

Technical field

The invention relates to a probiotic composition consisting of microencapsulated enterococci for promoting poultry growth.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In poultry, especially chickens and turkeys, growth-promoting agents in the form of antibiotics are widely used. Known antibiotics are, for example, agents such as Stafac ^R and BMD ^R (bacitracin methylenedisalicylate), which are used in sub-therapeutic amounts, for example 10 and 25 g / t, as feed additives to promote the desired growth characteristics of poultry. However, the use of antibiotics for these purposes has recently been criticized. One of the objections points to the possibility that poultry will gradually develop tolerance against antibiotics and that the antibiotic will stop acting in promoting growth. Further reservations relate to the health risks of the addition of unnatural antibiotics and to the detrimental effects they may have. However, for their benefit, antibiotics are still used to increase feed conversion, improve meat composition, and enhance growth.

It is known that certain bacteria may have a beneficial effect when added to feed. This effect consists in the delivery of natural intestinal microflora. Some companies offer probiotics on the market that contain the desired bacteria. However, these probiotics are difficult to maintain a stable product. Most often, probiotics are used in considerably low amounts, i. j. about 0.1% feed additive. However, unused feed or feed additives containing probiotics are often stored by farmers for a long time. This storage is often carried out under conditions in which there is a certain amount of moisture and high temperature. In many cases, the amount of moisture is just sufficient to activate the onset of bacterial growth, but insufficient for its duration. As a result, the bacteria will perish and the probiotics will lose their effectiveness. In other cases, the addition of antibiotics to the feed or feed additive containing the probiotic results in an unfavorable interaction with the bacteria, especially if a low amount of moisture is present and the bacteria again die. Long-term storage of probiotics is therefore a significant problem.

In another case of use where probiotics are added to, for example, chicken feed, it is customary to pellet the mass and add the probiotic prior to pclification. The moisture from the steam used during pelletization partially activates the bacteria, but can lead to destruction due to lack of moisture. Heat during pelletization can also destroy them. Furthermore, there is the problem of potential inactivation of bacteria in the acidic environment of the stomach before they actually enter the intestines. Thus, there remains a need for probiotics which release microorganisms only in the intestine and are not subject to premature release due to moisture or unfavorable pH values existing in the digestive tract before the small intestine.

In poultry farming, it is desirable to achieve certain characteristics of the reared individuals. These include increased weight gain, better feed conversion, meat composition, and finally a uniform flock weight. Of course, increased weight gain and better feed conversion are desirable for the savings that accompany these results. Influencing the quality of the meat composition is important because the most suitable tissue storage area for the selection of select meat is the chest. Thus, not only the weight gain is important, but also the location where it is stored. The uniform weight of the flock is important because if more birds are of normal size, less handwork is needed and the processor can rely more on machine processing. However, if birds vary widely in size from very small to very large, while maintaining the total weight of the flock, smaller and larger birds require much more manual work and cannot be easily machined due to their non-uniform size. A uniform flock size with a high percentage of distribution in the normal size range allowing processing of the chickens by a standardized device is therefore a desirable characteristic.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is a primary object of the invention to provide a probiotic for poultry free of antibiotics and containing only naturally occurring microorganisms microencapsulated with fatty acids.

The probiotic according to the invention comprises two strains of microorganisms, namely Enterococcus faecium 301, DSM 4789, and Enterococcus faecium 202, DSM 4788. DSM is an abbreviation of the German bacterial culture collection Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen, located in Braunschweig, Germany. These organisms were deposited in the US Collection of Microorganisms ATCC under ATCC 55059 and ATCC 53519.

This probiotic provides increased weight gain for poultry, better feed conversion, higher breast meat yields and uniform flock weight within normal size range.

A further advantage of the probiotics of the invention suitable for the poultry feed additive is that it contains microspheres of bacteria prepared using a special rotation technique using a free fatty acid matrix.

The probiotic of the invention is stable for 3 to 6 months without significantly reducing the number of viable microorganisms. The method of rotary molding of dried bacterial beads makes it possible to achieve their uniform size, the beads of rotary-disk-dried bacteria are free-flowing and easily incorporated into poultry rations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a composition for promoting poultry growth comprising adding a small but effective amount of probiotics to a conventional poultry feed dose comprising dried microspheres of Enterococcus faecium 301, DSM 4789, i. j. ATCC 55059, fatty acid-based and dried microspheres of Enterococcus faecium 202, DSM 4788, t. j. ATCC 53519, fatty acid based, wherein the microspheres are preferably formed by rotary disk drying.

Surprisingly, it has been found that the growth promotion of poultry can be achieved by adding a certain amount of Enterococcus faecium 301 microspheres, DSM 4789, ATCC 55059, fatty acid-based microspheres, and a certain amount of Enterococcus faecium 202 microspheres, DSM 4788 to conventional poultry feed rations. , ATCC 53519, based on fatty acids. The fatty acid used may be any of the C ₁₂ to C ₂₄ free fatty acids, preferably stearic acid. The microorganisms are preferably present in about the same amount, but their proportion can range from about 30 to about 70% of one of the organisms, the remainder being the other microorganism.

It is not known exactly why these two microorganisms provide the desired characteristics, in particular increased weight gain, better feed conversion, increased breast meat yield and increased flock weight uniformity. The fact is that this happens when both are present in a combination so that they can interact with each other and provided that the amount is within the stated range. It is through the interaction and interaction of these factors that the desired characteristics are achieved which make it possible to significantly improve the composition, quality and processing of poultry meat.

The amount of probiotic added to the feed ration can vary considerably, but should typically be in the range of about 0.227 kg to about 0.907 kg (i.e. 0.5 to about 2.0 pounds) per ton of feed, usually about 0.363 kg to about 0.544 kg (i.e., about 0.8 to about 1.2 pounds) per ton of feed, and most commonly, about 0.4536 kg (i.e., about 1 pound) per ton of feed. The number of microorganisms, i.e. the number of colony forming units per gram (CFU / g) present in the probiotic, may also be in the range of about 1.10 ^{6 to} 2.10 ⁹ CFU / g and preferably about 2. 10 ⁸ CFU / g.

If it behaves, the combination of the two strains as a growth promoter. Growth promoters hitherto used include antibiotics such as Stafac ^R and BMD. The benefits of subtherapeutic amounts of antibiotics as growth promoting ingredients can be achieved by the naturally occurring microorganisms of the invention when the probiotic is produced in accordance with the invention and added to the feed by the method of the invention. In addition, some experiments have been carried out showing that the combined combination of probiotics and growth promoter outweighs each of the individual components by its advantages and can therefore be used together if desired. In most cases, however, it is preferable to use the probiotic alone since one of the purposes of the invention is to eliminate the use of growth promoters at all.

The method of processing the microorganisms is not critical so long as the microorganisms can be kept alive only after they have been delivered to the animals and brought into such a form that they are well-fed to the feed and have a generally uniform size to control dosing.

A preferred means to meet these requirements is to process the microorganisms into microspheres using a fatty acid matrix. This procedure is described in Rutherford et al. In this procedure, the bacteria are combined with a heated fatty acid. The temperature of the fatty acid and the time of exposure of the bacteria to the fatty acid is controlled to keep the bacteria alive but to be mixed with the fatty acid. The mixture is placed on a rotating disk to form microspheres containing bacteria where the fatty acid acts as a matrix. Using this method, several significant advantages are achieved. First, the bacteria are kept alive during processing; secondly, the process in combination with the rotary disk technology allows uniformly sized microspheres to be obtained for better dosing. Thirdly, it allows the nature of the matrix, i.e. j. fatty acids, forming unique microspheres. The combination of these factors results in a highly stable probiotic with maximum efficiency.

In the process of the basic application, it is important to note that microspheres are formed where each bead is formed by a plurality of bacteria in a free fatty acid matrix before each individual bacterium is encapsulated in a coating or film-like layer of fatty acid. This brings the benefits of stability and more efficient dosing in bacterial processing.

A preferred encapsulant is C ₁₂ to C ₂₄ free fatty acid. It is also possible to use a mixture of fatty acids, but it is preferable to use a single pure fatty acid. It is also preferred that the free fatty acid is an unsaturated fatty acid; most preferred is stearic acid.

In general, it is important that the fatty acid has a melting point of less than 75 ° C, preferably in the range of 40 to 75 ° C. In order to function effectively as a matrix, it must of course be solid at room temperature. All free fatty acids within the chemical definition given above meet this requirement.

In order to increase the stability of the product, the bacteria are usually added to the product in lyophilized form. They can then be revived by adding moisture.

The microspheres produced as described below are typically from about 50 to more than 90% by weight of the fatty acid component and the remainder being a bacterial culture. The preferred range is about 60 to about 75% fatty acid. If too little fatty acid is used, the matrix is not suitable for protection. In contrast, when using too much, the matrix is too thick and does not allow adequate release in the intestine.

In the production method of the probiotics of the invention, a rotary disk is used to form the microspheres. The rotary disc technology generally consists in mixing the bacteria-fatty acid suspension thoroughly and bringing the mixture to the center of the rotating stainless steel disc at the same speed. As a result of centrifugal force, the mixture is thrown outwards and forms microspheres'. These are then collected in a refrigeration chamber maintained at ambient or slightly lower conditions, sorted and prepared for packaging. While encapsulation on rotary disks is known, it is not known to produce microspheres contained in a matrix without a surrounding housing, nor is it known to use microspheres or to encapsulate lyophilized bacteria. Rotary disk encapsulation is generally discussed by Johnson et al. of the Southwest Research Institute of San Antonio, Joumal of Gas Chromatography, October 1965, p. 345-347. Rotary disk encapsulation suitable for use in the present invention is further described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 4,675,140, issued to Sparks on Jun. 23, 1987, entitled Method of Coating Particles for Liquid Drops. Most preferred, however, is the process described in the basic application.

It should be emphasized that the rotational formation of microspheres provides a distinctly different product, both conventional spray drying and microencapsulation. In conventional spray tower drying, there is a tendency to kick the particles and form an irregular coating, which significantly affects the stability of the product, and reduces it to a level of days to weeks. The microencapsulation creates an envelope around the object, and it has been shown that the bacteria are then too small, too difficult to maintain or obtain in a uniform size to be practically usable. In the production of microspheres, in particular using the compositions described herein, the stability of the bacteria obtained, even when exposed to moisture and antibiotics, is achieved for three to six months, and the life of the bacteria in particles with uniform distribution is maintained

When microspheres are used 'to free fatty acids of the invention within the ranges hereinbefore expressed, the rotary disk, typically employing a 10, 16 to 15.24 cm (4-6 inches), rotated at 2000-4000 rpm ^1, preferably of about 2500-3200 min ^-1, and the feed rate can be 50-200 g / min. The preferred conditions presently known are use of stearic acid, use of two of said organisms, a four inch rotary disc, 3000 rpm and a feed rate ¹ of bacterial suspension containing 35% bacteria, 65% stearic acid, 100 g / min.

Under these conditions, a product with a particle size of 75 to 300 µm and a preferred size below 250 µm is obtained.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is explained in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1, 2 and 3 show the stability of microorganism strains using a stearic acid matrix,

FIG. 4 is a graph depicting the distribution of breast meat in feeding experiments with the probiotic composition of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a graph depicting body weight distribution in feeding experiments with the probiotic composition of the invention; and

FIG. Figures 4 and 5 show a control experiment, an antibiotic experiment and a probiotics experiment according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

To illustrate, but not limit, embodiments of the invention, examples are given. Examples are described in connection with Figures 1, 2 and 3 in the accompanying drawings. Examples 1-4 and FIG. 1, 2 and 3 relate to an earlier invention of the same inventor. Example 5 and Tables 2 to 10 relate to the probiotics of the invention.

Example 1

Example 1 correlates with FIG. 1. Explains the stability of the product using two different strains of Enterococcus faecium at 4 and 27 ° C. In FIG. 1 shows the stability of encapsulated Enterococcus faecium strains after encapsulation using a rotating disc apparatus using stearic acid and at a culture weight of 35%. The formation of microspheres was carried out under the above conditions, i.e., a suspension of bacteria stearic acid 35/65 60 ° C, using a four inch rotary disc rotation speed of 3000 min ^-1 and a feed rate of 100 g / min. The beads were formed, placed in heat-sealed steam barrier bags and weekly destructive samples were taken for CFU determination. Obviously, the product of the invention has maintained excellent numbers of colony forming units of the microorganisms (CFU) over a storage period of up to 70 days.

Example 2

Example 2 is to be interpreted in conjunction with FIG. 2. The figure shows the stability of the individual strains in the form of microspheres after admixing to the usual ration in the presence of three poultry antibiotics. The ration consisted of:

fine crushed corn 54 % soya flour 26 % fish meal 2 % dicalcium phosphate L5 % limestone 1 % soybean oil 5.5 % moisture content 12 %

Three antibiotics were added in the following amounts: decoquinate 6% (454 ppm), salinomycin (50 ppm) and monensin sodium (120 ppm).

Culture was added to the mixture in an amount providing approximately 1.10 ⁶ CFU / g feed.

The feed was packaged in heat sealed bags and incubated at room temperature. CFU samples were taken weekly. The graph of FIG. 2 shows excellent stability.

Example 3

Example 3 is to be interpreted in conjunction with FIG. 3. Explains the stability of Enterococcus faecium microspheres in feed in the presence of various antibiotics. The feed ration consisted of 60% finely ground corn, 38% soy flour and 2% limestone with a moisture content of about 14%. Culture was added to approximately 10 ⁶ CFU / g feed and mixed. Pound aliquots, i.e. weighing 0.4536 kg, were stored in sealed bags at 20 ° C and sampled weekly for 16 weeks. In the feed ration, antibiotics were included: bacitracin methylenedisalicylate 50 g / t carbadox 50 g / t chlorotetracycline 200 g / t lasalocide 30 g / t neomycin 100 g / t oxytetracycline 50 g / t sulfamethazine 100 g / t t tylosin 100 g / t virginiamycin 20 g / t

A5P250 100 g / t fúradox 10 g / t.

Table 1 shows the minimum times for the loss of 1 log of colony forming units (CFU).

Table I

Time in weeks for 1 log CFU loss at 20 ° C in crushed feed with 14% humidity

antibiotic Storage time (days) inspection 103 bacitracin 88 carbadox 54 chlortetracycline 60 lasalocid 57 lincomycin 75 neomycin 53 oxytetracycline 59 sulfamethazine 62 tylosin 52 virginiamycin 112 ASP250 67 furadox 53

Example 4

In Example 4, the stability of the product after pelletization for use in chicken feed was determined. Microspheres were formed under the above conditions. The following conditions were further used in this experiment: crude protein, not less than 18.0% crude fat, not less than 5.0% crude fiber, not more than 6.0%

With the following ingredients and conditions, antibiotic (CTC 50 g / t) pellets were produced with and without: corn, SBM, whey, soybean oil, dicalcium phosphate, limestone, trace mineral premix, vitamin premix, selenium, copper sulfate. The culture was added in an amount of approximately 5.10 ⁵ CFU / g feed. The conditioning temperature was 70 ° C and the pellet after the nozzle was 78 ° C. The pellets were stored in unsealed bags and weekly samples were taken for CFU determination. It was not adversely affected by the pelletization conditions in any case

2786 product stability. In particular, the pelletized product had the same stability as the unpelletized product.

Example 5

The 560 day-old Pcterson x Arbor Acres broiler chickens were randomly assigned to floored feeders (Table 2) with treated litter and fed for 45 days. All birds that died during the first 5 days were replaced by same-sex birds from the same van and treated. The composition of the basic nutrient initiation, growth and attenuation doses is shown in Table 3. These feed rations were adjusted to contain 1425 (initiation), 1450 (growth) and 1475 (attenuation) kcal ME / lb, ie to 0.4536 kg in total. with 90 g / t monezine. The initiation dose was administered from day 1 to day 21, growth from day 21 to day 42, and sedation from day 42 to day 49. Individual experiments were evaluated: crushed negative control (control M); selected encapsulated probiotic cultures containing Enterococcus faecium 301, DSM 4789, ie ATCC 55059 and Enterococcus faecium 202, DSM 4788, ie ATCC 53519, encapsulated with a fatty acid by means of a rotary disc according to Example 1 and present individually in an amount of 50% probiotics supplied to the ground feed a dose of 1.10 ⁵ CFU / g feed (probiotic M); pelletized negative control (control P); probiotic in an amount of 1.10 ⁶ CFU / g crushed feed, pelletized (probiotic P) and positive control containing 10 g / t virginiamycin, pelletized (Stafac ^R 10). The initiation dose was fragmented in the pelletizing experiments.

Twelve twelve feeders with 35 taps and 35 hens were used for each test dose. Body weight, feed consumption and mortality after the first 5 days were recorded for each feeder. For each feeder, feed conversion, adjusted feed conversion and feed adjusted to body weight were calculated.

All data were scattered and differences were determined using Fisher's LSD.

Prior to the experiment, the probiotic culture concentrate was supplemented with calcium carbonate. The theoretical counts for probiotic M were equal to 1.10 ⁸ CFU / g product and for probiotic P were 2.10 'CFU / g product. A duplicate sample of 11 g was measured for each product to determine the actual count. Each sample was processed on plates by the standard Pionecr method for lactic acid encapsulated bacteria. A mixing test was performed for each production phase. The test was designed to ensure a uniform distribution of the probiotic at appropriate levels in the feed and to maintain its viability during pelletization. Samples were taken from each batch at the time of bagging; for crushed products 4 equally spaced samples and for pelletized products 10 equally spaced samples (ie pockets 1, 3, 5, ..., 35, 37 and 39).

During weeks 1 and 4 of the experiment, samples of uncontaminated feed were taken from staggered feed; samples from the remaining feeders were taken at weeks 2 and 6 of the feed experiment.

An equal number of birds of both sexes were sacrificed to determine the weight of the breast meat, body weight and small intestine weight and length. For each bird, chest meat yield and intestinal weight to length ratio were calculated.

All data were subjected to a scattering analysis and the difference was determined by contrast and estimated values of the desired effects.

Sixty birds from each experiment were delivered to the university for sensory appetite evaluation.

Regardless of processing, the probiotic improved (P <0.05) the feed conversion compared to the respective control, while the weight gain increased (P <0.05) compared to the control only for crushed feed (Table 4). Probiotic P improved (P> 0.05) feed conversion over Stafac ^R 10, which had a similar value (P> 0.05) to control P.

The product had the desired composition in terms of representation and strain (Table 5).

The probiotic was evenly distributed throughout the feed. Probiotic M had the desired proportion, while probiotic P was 1 to 1-1 / 2 log higher than required for the initiation and growth rations (Table 6). The high probiotic P counts were due to the oversizing of the product to ensure sufficient recovery of the microorganism after pelletization.

In the case of probiotics P, the samples from the feeder floor corresponded closely to the numbers from the mixing test (Table 7). Probiotic M, however, in growth and attenuation mixtures in

Week 4 and 6 decreased 0 2 log.

Probiotic M increased (P <0.05) over control M as well as breast meat yield (Table 8), while probiotic P showed an improvement (P> 0.05) over control P. The improvement in crushed feed was consistent with the results found in previous attempt. Probiotic P did not show a similar magnitude of improvement in breast meat recovery as probiotic M. This failure may be due to a better use of energy by pelletizing, leaving less room for improvement.

By using pelletized feed, the average bird weight increased by 96 g compared to pulverized feed. The probiotic increased bird uniformity (Fig. 5) with the greatest improvement in the crushed feed.

Pelleting increased the average weight of breast meat by 15 g over crushed feed. The probiotic increased the average weight of pectoral meat and uniformity compared to the control (Fig. 4) with the greatest improvement in the crushed feed. Stafac ^R 10 showed the greatest improvement in uniformity in pelleted feed.

Pelletization yielded 0.53 percent units of breast meat compared to pulverized feed. Probiotic M showed an increase of 0.84 percentage units over control M at a size similar to the pelletization result.

The use of probiotics resulted in a shorter (P> 0.05) length of the small intestine than in both controls and in State ^R , expressed in actual length, body weight and breast meat ratio (Table 9). When probiotic M was used, the small intestine weight (P> 0.05) was less than in control M, expressed as either actual weight or percentage of body weight or weight of breast meat. Reducing bowel weight and length in the case of probiotics indicates less nutrient energy and more energy available for growth, as evidenced by improved feed conversion and breast meat yields (Tables 7 to 8).

Birds treated with probiotics P had no foreign odor compared to Stafac ^R 10 (Table 10). In a second experiment, it was found that the probiotic P improved the femoral taste compared to the control P. However, this improvement was not observed in the first attempt.

Table 2 Feeder layout

treatment Feeder numbers control P 2, 6, 15, 17, 22, 26, 104, 109, 11 13, 1 17, 122, 126 probiotikum P 4, 8, 12, 16, 21, 28, 105, 106, 11, 118, 125, 130 Stafac ^R 10 5, 7, 11, 18, 23, 27, 101, 107, 111, 116, 123, 129 control M 3, 9, 13, 20, 24, 30, 102, 108,114,1 19, 121, 127 probiotikum M 1, 10, 14, 19, 25, 29, 103, 110, 115,120, 124, 128

Feeder size 1,28 x 4,72 m (ie 4,2'x 15,5 '), one pipe feeder, one suspended watering, pine shavings as bedding, energy and evaporative cooling system, well insulated forced air heating, construction with hinged compartments.

Table 3

Composition of basic rations

ingredients Production phase initiation% growth% attenuation (%) ground corn 65.37 67.89 74.29 soya meal 25.58 23,53 17.83 meat - and - bone meal 3.00 3.00 3.00 grease 3.36 3.32 2.59 defluorinated phosphate 0.95 0.79 0.73 calcium carbonate 0.61 0.62 0.63 salt 0.35 0.31 0.32 trace minerals 0.05 0.05 0.05 methionine 0,3 9 0.28 0,3 3 lysine 0.19 0.06 0.18 vitamin premix 0.05 0.05 0.05

Table 4

Production data for floor feeders

Pelletized crushed inspection P * Stafac ^R 10 inspection M * weight, kg 2.17 2.18 " 2.17 " 2.06 ^b 2.12 " feed conversion l 871 ^b 1.827 " l, 855 ^{and b} l, 917 ^c 1,856 " ¹ adjusted feed conversion l 832 ^b 1,789 " l, 807 ^{and b} 1.887 ^c 1.812 " feed conversion adjusted to ² weight l 801 ^b 1.755 " l, 775 ^{and b} 1, 897 ^c l 798 ^b mortality rate,% 4.40 4.64 5.95 3.33 5.60

adjusted feed conversion = total feed / (live + + dead weight) ² feed converted to weight = adjusted feed conversion - [(weight-4.60) / 6] ^abc P <0.05 * according to the invention

Table 5

Product quality control and assurance

treatment ratio QC ¹ CFU / g product QA ² CFU / g product strain SF202: SF301 probiotikum P 5,75.10 * 1,01.10 * 50:50 probiotikum M 9,54.10 ' 9,60.10 ' 57: 43

¹ quality control ² quality assurance

Table 6

Mixing test and yield

Production phase and treatment Crushed CFU / g feed Pelleted CFU / g feed Yield ¹ % crushed. initiatory control P probiotic P Stafac ^R 10 control M probiotic M NA ² 2.02.10 ⁶ NA 2.51.10 '1.34.10 ⁵ 1,06.10 '1,67.10 ⁶ 6,46.10' 98.69 growth control P probiotic P Stafac ^R 10 control M probiotic M NA 3.89.10 ⁶ 5.25.10 ⁴ 1.00.10 ² 1.48.10 ⁵ 4.86.10 '1.09.10 ⁶ 6.42.10 91.62 Reduced control P probiotic P Stafac ^R 10 control M probiotic M 8,50.10 ² 7.04.10 ⁴ 8.80.10 '8.92.10' 1.33.10 ⁵ 1,11.10 '4,91.10 ⁵ 1,79.10 ⁴ 117.40 average control P probiotic P Stafac ^R 10 control M probiotic M 8.50.10 '8.21.10 ⁵ 2.15.10 ⁴ 8.72.10' 1.38.10 ⁵ 8,28.10 ² 9,64.10 ⁶ 9.05.10 ³ 118.09

'yield calculated from the data transformed into log _{. 0} ² NA = not available

Table 7

Quality assurance in floor feeders

A week treatment 1 ² 4 6 average CFU / g feed inspection 3,78.10 ² 3,83.10 ² 8,60.10 ² 2,21.10 ² 4,08.10 ² probiotikum P 9,23.10 ⁵ 9,37.10 ⁵ 8,77.10 ⁵ 8,48.10 ⁵ 8,96.10 ⁵ Stafac ^R 10 8,73.10 ² 1,29.10 ² 6,46.10 ² 8,63.10 ² 8,89.10 ² control M 3,46.10 ² 1,26.10 ' 2,79.10 ³ 2,00.10 ² 5,08.10 ² probiotikum M 1,43.10 ⁵ 1,25.10 ⁵ 1,75.10 ³ 1,00.10 ³ 2,32.10 ⁴

SK 278992 Β6

Table 8

Evaluation of breast meat yield

pelleted crushed inspection P * Staftc ^R 10 inspection M * body weight (G) 2,240.7 2 230.1 2 195.9 2 143.8 2 149.9 weight of breast meat (g) 234.4 ^a 239,6 ^a 232.0 " 213.3 ^pts 229.6 ^a breast meat extract (% body weight) 10.51 10.68 " 10.58 " 9.93 ^b 10.67

* P < 0.05 * according to the invention

Table 9

Bowel weight and length

pelleted crushed inspection P * StafäďlO inspection M * TH (g) 2,240.7 2 230.1 2 195.9 2 143.8 2 149.9 HHM (g) 234.4 239.6 232.0 213.3 229.6 HTC (g) 92.6 93.3 93.4 91.4 87.4 DTC (cm) 193.80 191,26 194.56 193.29 191,26 Heat pump (g / cm) 0,478 0,484 0,480 0,472 0,457 HR (g / 100g TH) 4.17 4.18 4.27 4.29 4.08 DTC (cm / 100 g TH) 8.81 8.64 8.97 9.17 8.97 HTC (g / 100g HHM) 40,19 39.70 40,97 43,96 38,69 DTC (cm / 100 g HHM) 84.86 81,97 85.65 93,70b 84.86

* The evaluators were able to delegate a single sample in a statistically significant (P <0.05) case count ^{1 The} number of correct individual sample identifications required for a 5% significance was 7 for n = 10 and 11 for n = 20.

Claims (5)

PATENT CLAIMS A probiotic poultry growth promoting composition comprising substantially dried viable stable microspheres of Enterococcus faecium 301, ATCC 55059, fatty acid based and dried viable stable microspheres of Enterococcus faecium 202, ATCC 53519, fatty acid based. A probiotic composition according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises 30 to 70% of one enterococcus and 70 to 30% of the other of said enterococci. 3. The probiotic composition of claim 2 wherein the fatty acid is a _C12 to _C24 free fatty acid. The probiotic composition of claim 3, wherein the free fatty acid is stearic acid. 5. The probiotic composition of claim 4, wherein the enterococcal microorganisms are present in equal amounts.