Strain identification Age of bird (weeks) Phenotype* Presumptive phenotypical identification MLST clusterdagger VV19 28 - - + (+) innocens B murdochii/B innocens VV26 26 - - + + innocens B intermedia group L VV27 26 + - - + intermedia B intermedia group M A21 12 - - + + innocens B murdochii/B innocens A40 8 - + + - pilosicoli B murdochii/Binnocens *Biochemical reactions for indole production, hippurate hydrolysis, α-galactosidase activity and β-glucosidase activity ( Fellström and others 1999 ) daggerMLST cluster as in Råsbäck and others (2007) , Philips and others (2010) +, positive; -, negative; (+), weak reaction The study showed that Brachyspira organisms can readily be isolated from the caecal contents of pheasants. The case-control study was based on the appearance of the caecal contents, as an indicator of the presence of enteric disease, in diagnostic submissions of pheasants regardless of the clinical history.