Poultry small intestine

The GI tract of poultry is complex. A newly hatched chick will become colonized rapidly with facultative aerobes, but lactobacilli will eventually become the primary organisms present in the crop and small intestine of the chick (Fuller, 1992). Modern poultry production prevents contact of the chick with the parent. Therefore, DFMs have been administered soon after hatching to increase the likelihood of the organisms in the DFM to become a part of the natural microflora of the bird. More research has been done in the area of DFM and inhibition in poultry than in any other species. 

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