Identification of microbial taxa associated with chicken feed efficiency
A total of 200 one-day-old Cobb chicks were used in this trial to select high and low feed efficiency chicken cohorts. Chicks were housed together during the brooding stage to ensure microbiota exchange through typical bird behavior, including coprophagy. After brooding stage, chicks were transferred into individual cages for growth. During the growing stage, feed intake and body weight of individual chickens were weighted weekly to determine growth performance including average daily gain, average daily feed intake, and feed conversion ratio. All chickens were fed a basal diet, and had free access to feed and water throughout the trial. Single chicken caging and individual measurements were designed to eliminate competition for feed and reduce behavioral issues affecting feed intake, allowing for a more precise correlation between the gut microbiota and feed efficiency. At the end of the feeding trial, 30 chickens from 200 chicken cohorts were selected and divided into two groups: high feed efficiency (HF, n=15) chickens and low feed efficiency (LF, n=15) chickens based on their growth performances. The digesta contents (including chyme and mucosa) from the duodenum, jejunum, ileum, and cecum were collected for identification of microbial taxa associated with chicken feed efficiency.