Individual sampling of chicken droppings: aseptic and non-invasive techniques

Abstract

Some devices allowing the sampling of chicken droppings in a non invasive way for the animal and in some aseptic conditions have been developped in the laboratory Pôle d’Expérimentation Avicole de Tours (PEAT). Depending on the age of the animals and therefore their morphology and their housing conditions, the use of fitted material was necessary to the collection of the droppings samplings following the criteria of the research contract « resistance genes flow in the poultry sector" (« Flux de gènes de résistance en filière volaille »). The three devices described here have allowed to sample hundreds of individual droppings, in an aseptic and in a non invasive manner for the chicken. This methodology easy to implement and cheap has been set out thanks to the sharing of the authors' experiences. It is easily transposable to other studies that need to sample aseptic droppings of chicken and is adaptable to other domestic bird species breeding in experimental laboratory.