The structure of bacterial community in the intestines of newly hatched chicks

The intestinal microbiota of broiler chickens may be altered when growth promoter additives are fed, resulting in improved performance. Unfortunately, this process occurs without a knowledgeable control of what a normal microbiota of poultry intestinal tract is at different ages. At hatching it is believed that the chicks may have the intestinal tract devoid of microorganisms or low diversity in this microbiota. The structure of the bacterial community cannot be accurately determined using traditional culture methods. Artificial media allows only bacterial species adapted to it to grow, misleading the results. This study was conducted to determine the structure of bacterial community in the small intestines of newly hatched chicks from 5 different populations at the moment they were delivered to the chicken house. The molecular technique, based on denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of amplicons from 16S rDNA, more precise and efficient than traditional methods, was used. The total number of distinct amplicons, representing bacterial genotypes, found in the 5 populations was 48. Upon their arrival at the farm, it was observed that 1-d-old broiler chicks carry a complex community of bacteria in their intestinal tract. The bacterial community may have been introduced in the intestinal tract of chicks in the prehatching phase, from the environment at the hatchery, or in transport.