Figure 2.

Alpha-diversity indices of caecal microbiota of chicks. (A) Chao, (B) Simpson, and (C) Shannon indices of caecal microbiota communities of chicks inoculated with water (Control), caecal content from conventionally raised broilers (Conventional), caecal content from organically raised laying hens (Organic), or autoclaved caecal content from organically raised laying hens (Autoclaved) at day 2, 7, 14, 28, and 42 post-hatch. For the same day, groups designated with a different letter are statistically different from one another (p ≤ 0.05). Statistical analysis was performed using the mixed-effect model and Tukey’s multiple comparison tests. Bars represent mean and SD.