Effects of stocking density on the growth performance and digestive microbiota of broiler chickens

Increased stocking densities are frequently reported to depress chicken growth performance, but the mechanisms behind this are not fully understood. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of stocking density on growth performance and digestive microbiota, known to be sensitive to environmental factors. Chickens were reared at 2 stocking densities, 12 or 17 birds/m(2). Growth performance was recorded between d 1 and 39, and litter was scored for quality on d 25, 31, and 37. Digestive microbiota was analyzed along the digestive tract (crop, ileum, ceca) of 3- and 6-wk-old chickens by using 2 molecular approaches: a qualitative method (fingerprinting by temporal temperature gradient gel electrophoresis) and a quantitative method (real-time PCR). An increase in stocking density was found to negatively affect the feed conversion ratio (+3.1%) and depress the daily BW gain of broilers (-5.5%) during the period from d 32 to 39 (P ≤ 0.05). Litter quality was reduced with the high stocking density as early as d 25. At 3 wk of age, stocking density strongly affected the fingerprint profiles of the bacterial community, with the highest modifications observed in the crop and ceca (R analysis of similarity = 0.77 and 0.69, respectively, P ≤ 0.05). At 6 wk of age, significant differences in the fingerprint profiles between the stocking densities appeared in the crop and ceca (R analysis of similarity = 0.52 and 0.27, respectively, P ≤ 0.05). The abundance of bacterial groups targeted by real-time PCR was affected by stocking density, but only to a limited extent. Because digestive microbiota may have consequences on the physiology of the digestive tract, its modification by an increase in stocking density may be involved in the reduced growth performance of the bird.