Effect of in ovo administration of an adult-derived microbiota on establishment of the intestinal microbiome in chickens.

OBJECTIVE To determine effects of in ovo administration of a probiotic on development of the intestinal microbiota of 2 genetic lineages (modern and heritage) of chickens. SAMPLE 10 newly hatched chicks and 40 fertile eggs to determine intestinal microbiota at hatch, 900 fertile eggs to determine effects of probiotic on hatchability, and 1,560 chicks from treated or control eggs. PROCEDURES A probiotic competitive-exclusion product derived from adult microbiota was administered in ovo to fertile eggs of both genetic lineages.

Egg yolk fatty acid profile in relation to dietary fatty acid concentrations.

Background: The health benefits of n-3 fatty acids have led to much research on manipulating the fatty acid composition of animal-derived foods. In this study, two experiments were conducted to investigate the interaction of dietary fatty acids on egg yolk fatty acid concentrations. In experiment I, 32 dietary treatments with three replicates of three birds each were fed for 35 days.