British Poultry Science最新文献

{"title":"Interaction between feeding regimen, NSPase enzyme and extent of grinding of barley-based pelleted diets on the performance, nutrient digestibility and ileal microbiota of broiler chickens.","authors":"K Itani, M Ahmad, S Ghimire, R B Schüller, J Apajalahti, A Smith, B Svihus","doi":"10.1080/00071668.2025.2451245","DOIUrl":"10.1080/00071668.2025.2451245","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>1. The effects of feeding regimen, NSPase, extent of grinding and their interaction on the performance, digestive tract characteristics and ileal microbiota were studied. Eleven-day-old Ross 308 male broilers were given <i>ad libitum</i> (ADL) or intermittent (INT) access to finely (FG) or coarsely (CG) ground barley-based pelleted diets, with or without NSPase in a replicated pen trial. All birds had 4 h darkness separated with 1 h light periods with feed access. In addition, INT birds had access to feed through three 1 h feeding periods and one 2 h feeding period, with 3 h feed restriction periods in between.2. The INT feeding decreased weight gain (<i>p</i> < 0.001) but did not affect FCR. Supplementation with NSPase increased (<i>p</i> = 0.018) weight gain, but there was a tendency (<i>p</i> = 0.063) for it to be improved in INT-fed birds only. Including NSPase improved FCR, but only with FG diets (<i>p</i> = 0.037) and in INT group (<i>p</i> = 0.033).3. The CG diet significantly reduced (<i>p</i> = 0.044) pH of the gizzard contents and increased (<i>p</i> = 0.035) gizzard relative weight compared to FG. Addition of NSPase (<i>p</i> < 0.001) or FG (<i>p</i> = 0.049) reduced jejunal digesta viscosity. The FG diet improved (<i>p</i> = 0.019) starch digestibility compared to CG. In NSPase-supplemented diets, CG increased ileal protein digestibility compared to FG in birds fed ADL only, resulting in a three-way interaction(<i>p</i> = 0.012).4. The FG diet increased ileal concentration of total eubacteria and <i>Lactobacillus</i> spp. (<i>p</i> = 0.049), whilst INT feeding increased ileal concentration of S<i>treptococcus</i> spp. (<i>p</i> = 0.001). In NSPase-containing diets, FG increased ileal density of <i>Enterococcus</i> spp. in INT-fed birds (<i>p</i> = 0.027).5. In conclusion, finely-ground barley in pelleted diets responded better to NSPase enzymes than coarsely ground, particularly under INT feeding.</p>","PeriodicalId":9322,"journal":{"name":"British Poultry Science","volume":" ","pages":"558-569"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143363679","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Combined effects of encapsulated raspberry powder and phosphate on the lipid oxidation, microbiological properties and shelf life of modified atmosphere packaged chicken nuggets during chilled storage.","authors":"H Arslan, M I Aksu","doi":"10.1080/00071668.2025.2453992","DOIUrl":"10.1080/00071668.2025.2453992","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>1. Further-processed poultry products, such as chicken nuggets, are susceptible to rapid lipid oxidation and microbial spoilage. Natural ingredients from various plants or fruits may contribute to improving the quality and extending the shelf life of meat products. In the present study, the use of encapsulated raspberry powder (ERP; control, 0.5%, 1.0%) in chicken nugget production with and without phosphate (0.0%, 0.3%) and its effects on chemical composition, lipid oxidation, microbial quality and shelf life were examined.2. Phosphate and ERP had effects on chemical composition and a_w; (<i>p</i> < 0.01). During storage, the ratio of O₂ and N₂ increased and the amount of CO₂ decreased (<i>p</i> < 0.05), but the increase in samples with 1.0% ERP addition was lower than in the control and 0.5% groups.3. Both the use of ERP (<i>p</i> < 0.01) and phosphate (<i>p</i> < 0.01) for nugget production prevented lipid oxidation. The lowest was determined in samples containing phosphate + 1.0% ERP (<i>p</i> < 0.05) during storage. However, the TBARS values were within acceptable limits (<1 mg MDA/kg) for all the samples with 0.5% and 1.0% ERP added with phosphate.4. The counts of total aerobic mesophilic bacteria decreased depending on the level of ERP added to the nugget composition (<i>p</i> < 0.01). Counts only exceeded 6 log CFU/g in the control samples on the 120^th day of storage. <i>Salmonella</i> spp. and <i>Listeria monocytogenes</i> were negative in all nugget samples during storage. The counts of <i>Enterobacteriaceae</i> were below the detectable limit (<2.0 log CFU/g) during storage.</p>","PeriodicalId":9322,"journal":{"name":"British Poultry Science","volume":" ","pages":"489-504"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143381604","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Characterisation of the CRISPR-Cas systems in <i>Enterococcus faecalis</i> from commercial broiler farm environments and its association with antimicrobial resistance.","authors":"M B Kim, Y J Lee","doi":"10.1080/00071668.2025.2451268","DOIUrl":"10.1080/00071668.2025.2451268","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>1. Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-associated proteins (Cas) systems have been highlighted for their potential applications in controlling the spread of mobile genetic elements, including antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes. This study investigated the characteristics of CRISPR-Cas systems in <i>E. faecalis</i> from commercial broiler farms and assessed the impact of these systems on AMR.2. All <i>E. faecalis</i> isolates contained CRISPR2, and CRISPR1-Cas and CRISPR3-Cas were identified in 84 (56.4%) and 144 (96.6%) isolates. A combination of CRISPR2 and CRISPR3-Cas and a combination of CRISPR1-Cas, CRISPR2 and CRISPR3-Cas were each identified in 27 (96.4%) farms.3. There were significant differences between CRISPR-Cas systems for phenotypic AMR: CRISPR1-Cas and CRISPR3-Cas. The <i>E. faecalis</i> isolates without CRISPR1-Cas showed higher resistance to most antimicrobials and had a higher prevalence of multidrug resistance (MDR) than those with CRISPR1-Cas. However, the resistance rate against most antimicrobials and the prevalence of MDR did not differ significantly depending on the presence or absence of CRISPR3-Cas.4. The <i>E. faecalis</i> isolates without CRISPR1-Cas harboured higher levels of all AMR genes, except for <i>tetL</i>, than those with CRISPR1-Cas. However, the <i>E. faecalis</i> isolates with CRISPR3-Cas showed a significant lower prevalence of <i>tetL</i> gene and a significantly higher prevalence of <i>fexA</i> and <i>poxtA</i> genes.5. In the distribution of <i>rep</i> families, the <i>rep</i>₉ family was predominant, followed by <i>rep</i>₁, <i>rep</i>₇, <i>rep</i>₂ and <i>rep</i>₈ families. Only prevalence of the <i>rep</i>₇ family was significantly higher in the <i>E. faecalis</i> isolates without CRISPR1-Cas (15.4%) than in those with CRISPR1-Cas (0%).6. This study is the first report on the characteristics of CRISPR-Cas systems in <i>E. faecalis</i> isolated from commercial broiler farm environments, and the results supported the hypothesis that the development of antimicrobial strategies requires an understanding of the distinctive capabilities between CRISPR1-Cas and CRISPR3-Cas and their underlying resistance mechanisms.</p>","PeriodicalId":9322,"journal":{"name":"British Poultry Science","volume":" ","pages":"523-530"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143078584","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Characterisation of <i>Proteus mirabilis</i> isolates from the poultry production chain in Zhejiang Province, China: antimicrobial resistance, virulence factors and genotypic profiling.","authors":"Y Xu, X Ji, X Chen, G Gui, T He, Y Xiao, L Lv, W Lyu","doi":"10.1080/00071668.2024.2436995","DOIUrl":"10.1080/00071668.2024.2436995","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>1. This study investigated antimicrobial resistance, virulence factors and genotypic profiling among <i>Proteus mirabilis</i> isolated from three sources (poultry farms, slaughterhouses and retail markets) in the poultry production chain in Zhejiang Province, China, to assess its potential risk to public health.2. A total of 112 <i>P. mirabilis</i> strains were isolated from 409 samples, including 35 from poultry farms, 35 from slaughterhouses and 42 from retail markets. Antimicrobial susceptibility was tested using 18 antimicrobials in 9 categories, in which 110 (98.2%) strains were considered multidrug-resistant (MDR). These strains carried numerous antimicrobial resistance genes, with the sulphonamide resistance gene (<i>sul1</i>) having the highest rate (100%) and the polymyxin resistance gene (<i>mcr-1</i>) the lowest (3.6%).3. These isolates were validated to carry virulence genes <i>pmfA</i>, <i>mrpA</i>, <i>atfC</i>, <i>rsbA</i>, <i>atfA</i>, <i>ureC</i> and <i>ucaA</i> with the high prevalence of 96.4, 92.9, 92.0, 85.7, 85.7, 57.1 and 46.4%, respectively. Genotyping results using the ERIC-PCR indicated that the genetic similarity of all the isolates was 68.6% to 100% which fell into 4 clusters.4. The <i>P. mirabilis</i> isolates from the slaughterhouses exhibited higher levels of antibiotic resistance and a more pronounced MDR phenomenon than those from poultry farms and retail markets. The proportion of isolates carrying the most commonly detected resistant and virulence genes was higher in samples from poultry farms and slaughterhouses as opposed to retail markets. Importantly, there was genetic similarity and heterogeneity among <i>P. mirabilis</i> isolates from the three sources and genotypic diversity was the highest among isolates from retail markets, followed by slaughterhouses and poultry farms.</p>","PeriodicalId":9322,"journal":{"name":"British Poultry Science","volume":" ","pages":"505-514"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143032299","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Multi-omics uncover acute stress vulnerability through gut-hypothalamic communication in ducks.","authors":"T Gu, R Guo, L Chen, Y Zong, Y Tian, W Xu, T Zeng, L Lu","doi":"10.1080/00071668.2025.2454960","DOIUrl":"10.1080/00071668.2025.2454960","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>1. The avian gut hosts a complex and dynamic microbial ecosystem, which is essential for regulating host organ function. However, the relationship between the gut microbiota and the hypothalamic axis in acute stress vulnerability in ducks remains unclear.2. This study investigated how the gut microbiota affects microbial metabolism and the host stress response by comparing hypothalamic neurotransmitter availability, microbial composition and co-metabolites generated by both the microbiota and hypothalamus in ducks exhibiting the lowest active avoidance (LAA) and highest active avoidance (HAA) behaviour.3. The HAA group experienced a significant increase in the availability of arginine, histidine, glutamine, norepinephrine, L-tyrosine and melatonin during acute stress in the hypothalamus, compared to that in the LAA group. The 16S rRNA sequencing revealed significant differences in the gut microbiota composition based on acute stress vulnerabilities.4. Both caecal and hypothalamic metabolomic analyses identified 71 metabolites altered in caecal content and 95 in the hypothalamus. There was significant enrichment in pathways such as the cGMP-PKG signalling, dopaminergic synapse and endocrine resistance.5. Correlation analyses demonstrated that certain co-metabolites, including 1,3-dicyclohexylurea, 1-deoxyvaleric acid, 2-amino-2-methyl-1,3-propanediol, 3-chloroaniline, methenamine, N4-acetylcytidine-triphosphate and traumatin, may play a role in the gut microbiota-hypothalamic axis.6. The results suggested that the gut microbiome influenced acute stress responses. This provided a basis for understanding gut-hypothalamic communication and its impact on behaviour in ducks.</p>","PeriodicalId":9322,"journal":{"name":"British Poultry Science","volume":" ","pages":"479-488"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143603959","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Gordon Memorial Lecture: Steering the gut microbiome for improved health and welfare in broilers.","authors":"R Ducatelle, E Goossens, V Eeckhaut, F Van Immerseel","doi":"10.1080/00071668.2025.2488014","DOIUrl":"10.1080/00071668.2025.2488014","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>1. In fast growing broilers, intestinal health is continuously under pressure due to extremely high feed intake and environmental/management conditions that cause (oxidative) stress to the intestinal epithelium.2. The following review focuses on the contributions of the Livestock Gut Health Team at Ghent University into understanding the mechanisms governing the interactions between the intestinal microbiota and the host intestinal mucosa. It covers the development of tools to support intestinal health of broilers through nutritional manipulation of the microbiota.3. In the duodenum and jejunum, microbiota are suppressed by the secretion of enzymes and antibacterial peptides in order to avoid competition for the nutrients. These defence mechanisms can be re-enforced and/or the epithelial cells can be protected from damage by different feed additives.4. Metabolism in the caecal microbial network is fuelled by the fibre fraction in feed. Whenever this network is incomplete or the feed is lacking fibre, this may lead to a distortion of the microbiota, followed by insufficient production of beneficial microbial metabolites, such as butyrate. This can contribute to inflammation and leakage of the gut barrier, with, in severe cases, wet litter, foot pad lesions and poor performance as common consequences. Reenforcing the caecal microbial network can be achieved using prebiotics, probiotics and postbiotics, which will improve the health and well-being of the birds.5. Steering towards optimal microbial fermentation will help to protect the birds from <i>Clostridium perfringens</i>-associated necrotic enteritis and <i>Salmonella</i> spp. colonisation since both interact with the intestinal microbiota.</p>","PeriodicalId":9322,"journal":{"name":"British Poultry Science","volume":" ","pages":"419-428"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144233263","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Population genomics and transcriptomics identify patterns of selection in two Liangshan chicken breeds.","authors":"T Wang, Z Cai, X Bai, H Zhong, D Li, B Chen","doi":"10.1080/00071668.2025.2454964","DOIUrl":"10.1080/00071668.2025.2454964","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>1. The global diversity of domestic chicken breeds, each exhibiting unique and specialised traits, offers a compelling context to explore how selection influences genetic variation patterns. China, with its myriad local chicken breeds, contributes significantly to this diversity.2. This study presents a population genome overview of genetic variations in 35 domestic chickens encompassing two distinct breeds from the Liangshan Prefecture in Sichuan Province. Through comparative genomic analysis of 17 red jungle fowls (RJF), genes associated with artificial selection in the Yanying and Luning chickens were identified. Further transcriptome comparison between these two breeds with Lohmann layers identified expression profiles of genes under selection.3. In total, 1,006 and 982 selected genes were identified in Yanying and Luning chickens, respectively, with 326 shared genes. These genes were primarily involved in immunity, energy metabolism, body size maintenance, and fertility. Transcriptomic analysis revealed tissue-specific gene expression, with Yanying showing immunity-related gene upregulation in ovaries compared to Lohmann chickens.4. These findings provide valuable insights into the genetic basis of breed-specific traits, offering potential targets for future breeding programmes to enhance chicken productivity and adaptability.</p>","PeriodicalId":9322,"journal":{"name":"British Poultry Science","volume":" ","pages":"458-467"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143603960","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"<i>Polygonatum sibiricum</i> polysaccharides combat fatty liver haemorrhage syndrome in hens <i>via</i> regulation of lipid metabolism, oxidative stress and inflammatory response.","authors":"Y Zhou, G Yang, H Liu, Y Li, X Wang, J Liu","doi":"10.1080/00071668.2025.2536340","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00071668.2025.2536340","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>1. A total of 90 healthy Hyline brown laying hens (44 weeks old) were randomly assigned into three groups, a group of hens with fatty liver haemorrhagic syndrome (FLHS) fed with high-energy low-protein diet (HELPD), which exacerbates the syndrome, and the other two groups fed with HELPD containing 400 and 800 mg/kg PSP, respectively, to investigate the therapeutic effects and underlying mechanisms of <i>Polygonatum sibiricum</i> polysaccharides (PSP) on FLHS.2. Dietary PSP supplementation significantly elevated laying rate of FLHS hens. The FLHS hens fed with PSP displayed significant decrease in ALT, AST, TG, TC and LDL-C, while the increase in ALB, TP and HDL-C compared with FLHS hens.3. Hens receiving PSP had significantly reduced levels of MDA but increased activity of T-AOC, SOD, CAT and GSH-Px in both the serum and liver of hens with FLHS. It inhibited inflammatory response in FLHS hens, as evidenced by reduced levels and expression of IL-1β, TNF-α and IL-6, but elevated levels and expression of IL-10 in the serum and liver.4. Transcriptome analysis confirmed that PSP improved FLHS in laying hens through regulating lipid metabolism (such as PPAR signalling pathway, fatty acid metabolism and fatty acid biosynthesis), redox balance (including FoxO signalling pathway and peroxisome) and inflammation (<i>e.g</i>. adipocytokine signalling pathway and cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction).5. This study indicated that dietary PSP supplementation is a practical strategy to prevent and treat FLHS through improving lipid deposition, oxidative stress and inflammation in laying hens.</p>","PeriodicalId":9322,"journal":{"name":"British Poultry Science","volume":" ","pages":"1-12"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144759243","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comprehensive analysis of mRNA and miRNA expression profiles in follicular development in quail.","authors":"X Zhang, L Liu, Y Liu, Y Liu, J Yang","doi":"10.1080/00071668.2025.2451263","DOIUrl":"10.1080/00071668.2025.2451263","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>1. Ovarian follicle development is a key determinant of egg production in quail which is regulated by a dynamic and stage-specific genetic program. However, most follicle-related genes and miRNAs have not yet been identified in quail.2. This study applied transcriptome sequencing to dissect mRNA and miRNA expression patterns in quail ovarian follicles at distinct developmental stages: the pre-selection (SYF), the post-selection (F5) and the pre-ovulatory follicles (F1) in egg-laying birds. Comparative analyses identified 362 differentially-expressed mRNAs and 13 miRNAs in the F1 <i>vs</i>. F5 comparison, 549 and 72 in the F5 <i>vs</i>. SYF comparison and 1833 and 55 in the F1 <i>vs</i>. SYF comparison, respectively.3. Significant differentially-expressed mRNAs implicated in follicle development included <i>VCAN</i>, <i>FGFR3</i>, <i>ALDH1A1, NR0B1,ZP2</i> and <i>SMOC1</i>. Other significant miRNAs were represented by ga-miR-460b-5p, gga-miR-1552-5p, gga-miR-125b-5p, gga-miR-135a-5p, gga-miR-122-5p, gga-miR-29b-3p and ggga-miR-138-1-3p.4. Enrichment analyses using GO and KEGG databases highlighted the influence of the extracellular matrix (ECM), cell adhesion molecules (CAMs), TGF-β and calcium signalling pathways and the steroid synthesis pathway on follicular development.5. Additionally, the miRNA-mRNA interaction network pinpointed the regulatory roles of specific differentially expressed miRNAs (DE miRNAs), including gga-miR-1306-5p, gga-miR-133a-3p, gga-miR-133c-3p, gga-miR-214, gga-miR-214b-5p and gga-miR-34a-5p.</p>","PeriodicalId":9322,"journal":{"name":"British Poultry Science","volume":" ","pages":"439-452"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144207795","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of water acidifiers on the growth performance, intestinal function and gut microflora in broilers.","authors":"J Chen, S Guo, S Shi","doi":"10.1080/00071668.2025.2454958","DOIUrl":"10.1080/00071668.2025.2454958","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>1. This study evaluated the effect of acidified drinking water on the gastrointestinal function and intestinal health of broilers.2. A total of 630 one-day-old male broilers (Arbor Acre) were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups: drinking water treatment (CON), drinking water + 0.5 ml Selko pH®/L (Selko pH), or + 0.85 ml Forticoat®/L (Forticoat) treated groups. Performance data, gut and digesta samples were collected from the broilers at the age of 21 and 42 d.3. The results showed that acidifying drinking water had no significant effect on body weight or average daily gain (ADG). However, addition of Forticoat significantly increased (<i>p</i> < 0.05) feed conversion ratio (FCR) throughout the experimental period and significantly increased (<i>p</i> < 0.05) pepsin activity on d 21. The Selko pH supplemented drinking water significantly increased (<i>p</i> < 0.05) the relative length of the duodenum and jejunum on d 21. The relative length of the jejunum and caecum on d 42 compared to birds receiving CON. The addition of the Forticoat to drinking water significantly increased (<i>p</i> < 0.05) the relative length of the jejunum and caecum on d 42 than for samples from birds in the CON group. In the caecal chyme, abundance of <i>Blautia</i>, <i>Bifidobasterium</i>, <i>Faecalibacterium</i>, <i>Limosilactobacillus</i> and <i>Akkermania</i> spp. on d 21 were significantly higher (<i>p</i> < 0.05) in the caecum of birds receiving Selko pH than those in CON group and the number of <i>Escherichia Shigella</i> in Selko pH and Forticoat group were significantly lower (<i>p</i> < 0.05).4. Overall, adding Seiko pH and Forticoat to drinking water improved pepsin activity, reduced the number of caecal pathogens, increased the number of beneficial bacteria and improved intestinal health in broilers.</p>","PeriodicalId":9322,"journal":{"name":"British Poultry Science","volume":" ","pages":"570-577"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143078585","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}