Efficacy of in-feed tylosin phosphate for the treatment of necrotic enteritis in broiler chickens

The efficacy of tylosin phosphate for the treatment of necrotic enteritis (NE) was investigated in a floor pen study of 2,000 broiler chickens. A model in which Clostridium perfringens was administered in the feed on Days 14 to 16 was used to initiate an outbreak of NE. Treatments, allocated at the pen level in a randomized complete block design, consisted of five levels of tylosin phosphate (0, 50, 100, 200, or 300 ppm) administered in the feed on Days 15 to 22, following the identification of an outbreak of NE on Day 13. Mortality due to NE was significantly reduced (P < 0.05) for medicated birds at all dose levels of tylosin phosphate compared to unmedicated birds. Mean NE lesion scores on Day 17 were significantly reduced (P < 0.05) by all levels of tylosin treatment compared to those of unmedicated birds, decreasing linearly from 2.66 at 0 ppm to 0.38 at 100 ppm and 0 at higher doses. Tylosin at all levels provided improvement in Day 29 body weight, average daily gain, feed to gain ratio, and average daily feed intake compared to unmedicated birds. The results of this study provide evidence that tylosin phosphate, when administered in feed, is effective in the treatment of clinical outbreaks of NE in broiler chickens and suggest that the optimal dose for this purpose is 100 ppm.