Interrelationship of Lactobacillus and Zinc Bacitracin in the Diets of Turkey Poults

An experiment was conducted with Broad Breasted Large White turkey poults to study the effects of adding a microbial preparation or zinc bacitracin, either alone or in combination, to the diet. The addition of either Lactobacilli or zinc bacitracin resulted in numerically improved body weights and feed efficiency. The improvement in growth from the combination of the two supplements was not as great as when either was fed alone. The addition of Lactobacilli to the diet resulted in significantly decreased coliform and total aerobe counts in the feed and in the digestive system of turkey poults. When zinc bacitracin was added to the diet there was a signiificant reduction in coliform and total aerobe counts in the digestive system; however, this reduction was greater when Lactobacilli were added alone. The addition of the microbial preparation to the diet resulted in increased Lactobacillus count in the digestive system of the poults; however, the addition of bacitracin to the diet containing Lactobacilli resulted in decreased Lactobacillus count in the digestive system.