Effect of Bird Type, Growers and Season on the Incidence of Salmonellae in Turkeys

The incidence of salmonellae in 25 turkey flocks of hens, toms and broilers entering a processing plant was investigated by representative sampling of cecae and intestines in each flock. Considerable flock to flock variability was found (0‐72%) with one‐third of the flocks having greater than 10% infection. Variability between flocks from different growers and among flocks from each grower was evident. Certain growers were found to repeatedly ship salmonellae‐infected flocks. There was no difference in the infection levels between the different bird types and the season effect was not significant. This study has shown that it is possible to pinpoint specific salmonellae‐infected flocks that may be contributing to the dissemination of salmonellae in the plant.