Changes in the broiler litter bacterial microbiome during production on UK farms

The management and characteristics of broiler chicken litter are important for bird health and production. The bacterial community within the litter is an area of increasing interest. This work aimed to develop a profile of the bacterial microbiota in broiler litter throughout production on UK commercial farms.

Litter samples were taken from broiler houses on six UK farms during two consecutive production cycles. Sampling points were in the Early (day 5-10), Mid (day 25-30) and Late (post-thin, day 32-42) parts of the cycle. Three of the farms used wood shavings litter, two used straw crumb and one used cut straw. Bacterial community composition was determined using 16 s rRNA amplicon sequencing (v3-v4). Functional potential was predicted from this using PICRUSt2. The bacterial community composition (and predicted functional potential) was most variable at the Early sampling point and changed between the Early and Mid points. The relative abundance of seven of the ten most abundant bacterial genera also changed between the Early and Mid points, but not between the Mid and Late points.

Results of this applied study demonstrate changes in the community composition and predicted metabolic potential of the bacterial microbiome in broiler litter during the production cycle on UK commercial farms.