INDIGENOUS POULTRY FEED MICROFLORA RESPONSE TO ETHYL-ALCOHOL AND BUFFERED PROPIONIC-ACID ADDITION

The present study was designed to compare ethyl alcohol with buffered propionic acid feed treatment on the survival of indigenous poultry fe ed bacteria and finding. The aerobic bacterial poultry feed population s were not substantially reduced by either ethyl alcohol or buffered p ropionic acid treatments. Likewise, indigenous poultry feed fungal pop ulations also were not markedly reduced by buffered propionic acid tre atment of the feed but fungal poultry feed populations exposed to ethy l alcohol treatments were significantly lower (P<0.05) than fungal pop ulations recovered from either control and buffered propionic acid tre ated feeds. Ethyl alcohol treatment may have potential for reducing fu ngal contamination in poultry feed.