Chicken ceca contain a large and diverse population of bacteria. Bifidobacterium spp. have been considered to promote health effects to the host. The broiler starter diet was supplemented with isomaltooligosaccharide (IMO) at 1%, 2%, 4% (w/v), and a control group without IMO supplementation. Forty one-day-old chicks were randomly divided into four groups and provided assigned treatment diets. All groups were challenged with 0.25 ml of a culture of Salmonella enterica ser. Typhimurium 200 g/ml nalidixic acid resistant (S. ser. Typhimurium Nalr), containing 108 cells, after seven days of placement. IMO supplemented diets resulted in significantly higher cecal bifidobacteria compared to the control diet (P<0.05). Chickens fed diets with 1% w/v IMO had a significant two log reduction in the level of inoculated S. ser. Typhimurium Nalr (P<0.05) present in the ceca compared to the control group. No significant improvement in weight gain was observed when compared to the control groups. It may be suggested that feeding the optimum level of IMO in the diet of chickens promoted the growth of Bifidobacterium spp. and reduced Salmonella colonization in young chickens in addition to promoting Bifidobacterium spp. growth. In the process, a bifidobacteria selective medium was formulated and tested for efficacy in selective enumerating of chicken cecal samples. Transoligosaccharide propionate agar medium (TOS) was improved by addition of mupirocin (0.1 mg/ml) and glacial acetic acid (1%v/v). Four media were evaluated to determine their efficiency and selectivity for Bifidobacterium spp. in chicken cecal sample; TOS without modification, TOS-A supplemented with glacial acetic acid (1%v/v), TOS-M supplemented with mupirocin (0.1 mg/ml), and TOSAM supplemented with glacial acetic acid (1%v/v) and mupirocin (0.1 mg/ml). The addition of mupirocin and acetic acid contribute to the inhibition of the growth of non-bifidobacteria. TOSAM was found to have the most Bifidobacterium spp. selectivity among media tested. However the number of Bifidobacterium spp. recovered from chicken cecal samples enumerated on TOS with mupirocin supplementation (TOS-M and TOS-AM) was significantly lower (P<0.05) than those of media without mupirocin supplementation (TOS and TOS-A). TOS-A was found to have more Bifidobacterium spp. selectivity compared to TOS without modification and without reducing Bifidobacterium spp. population from chicken cecal samples compared to TOS with mupirocin supplementation. TOS-A has a simple preparation and could be potentially used for isolation and enumeration of Bifidobacterium spp. from chicken cecal samples.