Pathogenic species of Enterococcus bacteria are causing significant disease challenges in hatching eggs, chicks and broilers. Hatchability rates have been declining for several years, and Enterococcus faecalis is a primary contributor. As an industry, if hatchability can improve by just 3%, there will be another 7.11 million chicks produced weekly.
Enterococcus cecorum is a primary contributor to osteoarthritis, commonly known as kinky back, which causes culling and condemnation rates at processing to be as high as 9.7%.