“Is there any specific reason why necrotic enteritis outbreaks typically occur between 3 and 4 weeks of age in broilers?”
Our Experts: Dr. Chantel Caughlin, Dr. Teryn Girard, Dr. Hayley Bowling, Prairie Livestock Veterinarians
Answer
Necrotic enteritis has many different underlying causes and occurs as a result of the overgrowth of a ‘bad bacteria’ in the gut (typically Clostridium perfringens). Anytime the gut experiences some sort of sress, this is an opportunity for this ‘bad bacteria’ to overgrow and cause damage to the gut wall. In addition, Clostridium bacteria is particularly nasty as it also releases toxins into the blood that can cause rapid mortality. At 3-4 weeks old, it’s the perfect storm for stress on the gut. This is typically a time of rapid body growth, the peak of cocci cycling, diet change (specifically the addition of higher percentage of wheat in supplemented diets), and/or any other environmental stressors. Any of these factors on their own, or when we’re dealing with multiple stressors at once, can be enough to cause ‘bad bacteria’ in the gut to overgrow, resulting in what we see in the barns as necrotic enteritis.
Thank you to the wonderful veterinarians at Poultry Livestock Veterinarians for taking the time to answer our question!
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Dawn has an MMUS from Northwestern University and worked from 2017 - 2021 as the U of A Heritage Chicken Program Coordinator. With extensive experience as a newspaper and magazine writer and editor, Dawn is the scribe for the PIP team. Duties include transcribing minutes, creating action lists, organizing team ideas and projects, editing, writing articles, and interviewing subjects for the People of Poultry series in the PIP newsletter. Dawn also assists in PIP tech transfer initiatives.
