Improving Geese Production Performance in 'Goose-Fish' Production System by Competitive Reduction of Pathogenic Bacteria in Pond Water

This study investigated whether competitive reduction of pathogenic bacteria growth in pond water alleviates lipopolysaccharide (LPS) contamination and improves geese production performances in the “goose-fish” production system, thereby providing the potential for an improved technique for ecological water fowl production. In the first experiment, 240 Magang goslings of 15-d age were randomly and equally allocated into 16 “yard and pond” pens using a 2×2 factorial design with 4 replications per treatment. In the 55-d experimental period, the goslings received 2 main treatments: supplementation of Bacillus subtilis spores in the feed and addition of photosynthetic bacteria (PSB) to the pond water. Both B. subtilis spores and PSB treatments significantly suppressed water counts of Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli, Salmonella and Shigella, and LPS concentrations in pond water and in gosling blood (P