Introduction:
• Chicks with unhealed navels at hatching:- Lower final BW and higher mortality [1]- Delayed absorption of yolk sac (YS) and less developed intestine [2]
• Infection of the YS (omphalitis) = main cause of first week mortality in broiler chicks [3
]• Avian E. coli (APEC) cause omphalitis [4]
• The presence of APEC may increase the ability of some human E. colito cause disease in people [5]• Are bacteria entering the YS through the chick navel?•
The poultry industry is interested in controlling factors affecting the health of newly hatched chicks
