title: Some observations on the caecal microflora of the chick during the first two weeks of life.
abstract: 1. Changes in the caecal flora of chicks aged from approximately 3 h to 14 d were studied. 2. Counts obtained by means of a conventional anaerobic plating method and a method for the stricter anaerobes remained comparable throughout but occasionally it was found that strains of anaerobic bacteria isolated from the predominant flora of 4- to 14-d-old birds could not be grown when tested by the conventional method. 3. During the 14-d period approximately 100% of the organisms isolated on anaerobic plates utilised uric acid up to the third day but the incidence subsequently declined and in one case represented only 4% of the total flora. 4. The predominant uric acid-utilising bacteria were Streptococcus faecalis and Escherichia coli up to 3 d of age and various types of anaerobic bacteria thereafter. 5. None of the isolates showed an absolute requirement for uric acid.
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000693:Anaerobiosis; D000818:Animals; D002432:Cecum / Q000382:microbiology*; D002645:Chickens / Q000382:microbiology*; D003013:Clostridium / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D003470:Culture Media; D013293:Enterococcus faecalis / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D007778:Lactobacillus / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D013291:Streptococcus / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D014527:Uric Acid / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media; D014527:Uric Acid