Free range chickens and the importance of their intestinal microbiome

Free range chickens’ intestinal microbial population is a topic of interest for the poultry industry and more specifically for those carrying out this kind of production system.

Outdoor broiler production faces several of the same problems as outdoor laying hens, including predator threats, bird health, and environmental exposure.

Sossidou et al. (2015) have suggested that slow-growing poultry breeds are preferred for this type of production. This is due to the fact that they are more adaptable to environmental conditions associated with prolonged pasture occupation thanks to their growth rate, skeletal development, behavioral characteristics, and a well-developed immune system.

Fast-growing broiler breeds can be ready for the market in as little as 7 weeks, while slow-growing breeds may require up to 12 weeks before entering markets.

In addition, Sossidou et al.  (2011, 2015) noted that there may be benefits for animal welfare and lower nutritional requirements for slow-growing breeds in grasslands vs. fast-growing breeds under these same conditions.

Food safety concerns have also been considered with broiler production in the wild. The main foodborne pathogens associated with poultry are Campylobacter and Salmonella

The colonization route of foodborne pathogens in the gastrointestinal(GI) tract and systemic invasion is presumably similar to what occurs in conventional poultry (Shi et al. , 2019). This certainly depends on host factors, such as intermittent dietary intake which is potentially experienced in free range grazing.

Since antibiotics are generally excluded in free range production, the occurence of antibiotic resistance in microorganisms isolated from birds produced under these conditions would presumably be less frequent.

Factors such as:

Diet

Race

The age of birds

And housing conditions

may exhibit a potential influence on the development of the GI tract microbial consortium in broilers.

These types of dietary differences between conventionally raised broilers and “Free Range” chickens may also have a distinctive influence on the respective GI tract microbiota.

Age can affect the diversity of the gut microbiome in poultry, even when diet does not.

Continue reading “Gastrointestinal microbiota of birds raised under alternative systems” (spanish content)