Location: Poultry Research
Project Number: 6064-13000-014-002-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Sep 1, 2020
End Date: Oct 30, 2025
Objective:
The objective of this research is to assess effects of Escherichia (E.) coli mitigation in commercial poultry production as affected by rearing practices, litter management practices, and differing environmental management strategies on production efficiency and resource use.
Approach:
Litter from six commercial poultry (broiler and hen) will be collected and stored in a container placed inside the biosecurity cabinet. The litter will be inoculated with non-pathogenic Escherichia (E.) coli. The amount of E. coli for inoculation will be adjusted to generate enough airborne E. coli for sampling. The airborne particles will be generated through raking the litter using an automated raking system. The raking simulates the foraging behavior of birds in commercial settings. Three bio-aerosol samplers will be placed side- by-side and perform air sampling simultaneously. The duration of air sampling will be 30 mins. E. coli recovery rates will be assessed through microbiological assay.
