Cecal drop reflects the chickens' cecal microbiome, fecal drop does not KU Leuven Ghent University
Microbiota in the gastro-intestinal tract are closely related to both the intestinal and overall health of the host. Experimental chickens have always been euthanized in order to identify and quantify the bacteria in cecal content. In this study, quantification and identification of the microbial populations in cecal drop, cecal content and fecal drop samples from chickens showed that cecal drop contains a bacterial community that is very ...