Abstract
The effect of Aviguard (AG) on growth parameters, gut health and control of pathogenic colonization of broilers was examined under Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens) challenge. Chicks (1-d old) received one Of the following treatments: 1. positive control (CONTcp): with no additions; 2. negative control + C. perfringens challenge (CONT); 3. coarse spray of AG at d 1 + C. perfringens challenge (AG(spray)); or 4. AG in drinking water at d 8 + C. perfringens challenge (AG(water) Overall, feed conversion ratio (FOR) in treatment AG(water) was significantly better (P <0.05) than the CONTcp, or AG(spray) treatments, whereas CONT was intermediate and not different from AG(water).The improvement in FCR d to in feed intake (FI) in AG(water), while body weight gain (BWG) was not influenced by treatment. AG(water), was very effective in eliminating C. perfringens that was induced by necrotic enteritis infection model. The changes in C. perfringens count appear in parallel to observed changes in villi width in the small intestine. Ttie results from this study indicated that AG(water), can be considered as an effective nonantibiotic alternative for C. perfringens prevention in broilers.