Early nutritional programming to enhance the gut health of chickens raised without antibiotics

One of the ways to reduce the use of antibiotics in the poultry industry is to produce healthier and stronger chicks right from the hatch. In traditional practice, newly hatched chicks are not fed until they are transported to the production units. The hatching widows and transportation lead to delays in feeding and starvation of chicks. Providing bioactive nutrients to chicken embryos before the hatch could help chicks sustain the starvation at the hatch and stimulate gastrointestinal development, resulting in healthier chicks raised without antibiotics. This research will investigate the effects of supplementing two marine bioactive ingredients, seaweed polyphenol and a fish peptide to the chicken embryos.

Faculty Supervisor:

Stephanie Collins

Student:

Partner:

Canadian Poultry Research Council

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

Agriculture; Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

Dalhousie University

Program: