Studio preliminare per l'individuazione di un early warning system per la coccidiosi nel broiler

Preliminary study for the identification of an early warning system for coccidiosis in broilers. The main objective of this research was the individuation of an early warning system for the coccidiosis in broilers. One hundred and twenty Ross 308 one day old were reared at the facilities of the University of Milan. The broiler were kept into two rooms under the same ventilation system and rearing conditions. The group A was fed with a commercial broiler feed with coccidiostatic, the group B with the same diet without coccidiostatic. During the rearing period the chickens were weekly weighed; moreover, every week the air was sampled and analysed by an electronic nose in order to verify whether the MOS sensors were able to discriminate between healthy and sick animals. At the same time the litter was sampled in 5 points of the box in order to count the oocysts. The preliminary results showed the sensor capability to discriminate between group 1 and 2 even when the oocysts were only 250 opg. This system might be an useful tool for early detection of enteropathy in farmed animals kept under controlled environmental conditions.