English

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to determine the presence of Salmonella spp. in 30 laying hens of the third cycle. Samples were taken from the digestive tract, cloaca, feces, and organs. The sampling of feces and cloaca was conducted first, followed by the other tissues at necropsy. Feces were taken from the floor of the cages during five weeks. Thirty (30) samples of cloaca were taken at random from five hens. The sampled organs at necropsy of 30 hens were ovary, spleen, liver, gallbladder and duodenal loop. The samples were analyzed by microbiological methods and sown on agar SB at 24 and 48 h; positive cultures were incubated at an additional 24 h and suspicious-positive samples for Salmonella spp. were subjected to biochemical tests. Data collected from bismuth sulfite agar (ASB) cultures were analyzed statistically by Xi squared (Xi2) test. The results show that growth was present in two samples of feces and five from the bottom of the cage, but the differences were not significant (P> 0.05). Cloaca samples were positive in the sixth sample of a bird, but it was not different between tests (P>0.05). The percentage of bacterial growth from samples of organs in the first group was 66.66 and of 50% in the second. Biochemical tests of positive samples from feces and cloaca demonstrated the presence of Escherichia coli and Edwardsiella spp., whereas in the organs Edwarsiella spp was present, but not Salmonella spp. We conclude that it was not possible to isolate Salmonella spp. in feces or organs of laying hens in the third cycle of laying, suggesting that the management of the farm and laying hens were appropriate to avoid contamination from initiation to final production.   Key words: Salmonella, Moulting, laying hens.