Xiaoqin Xu ^1* Zihan Wang ¹ Yi Jian ¹ Long Zhang ¹ Caiquan Zhou ¹ Li Liu ² Hui Liu ³

• ¹ China West Normal University, Nanchong, China
• ² Agricultural Technique Promotion Station of Nanchong, Nanchong, China
• ³ Yingshan Fucheng Meat Pigeon Breeding Professional Cooperative, Nanchong, China

Pigeons are significant economic animals in China; however, research regarding the establishment and influencing factors of gutintestinal microfloramicrobiota in squabs remains limited. This study employed 16S rRNA sequencing technology to elucidate the establishment characteristics of the intestinalgut microfloramicrobiota in White King pigeon squabs and to investigate the crucial role of pigeon milk in this process. The findings revealed a diverse microbiome present in the meconium of newborn pigeons, with a microbial composition that significantly differed from that of other feces groups. In contrast, the microbial composition of feces (FN) from pigeons aged 7 to 21 days exhibited less variability. At the phylum level, the predominant microbial taxa identified in the feces of FN were Firmicutes, Actinobacteriota, and Proteobacteria. At the genus level, the main dominant bacterial groups included Lactobacillus, Limosilactobacillus, and Turicibacter. Functional prediction analysis indicated that the intestinalgut microbiotamicroorganisms of pigeons primarily participate in metabolic pathways related to carbohydrates, amino acids, lipids, cofactors, and vitamins. Furthermore, the dominant bacteria found in pigeon milk (MN) were identified as probiotics, including Limosilactobacillus, Ligilactobacillus, Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, and Aeriscardovia, which collectively accounted for over 90% of the total abundance. Correlation analysis of the abundance of shared microbes revealed that the association between meconium and the abundance of shared microbiota in feces at the other stages was extremely low. In contrast, the correlation between colostrum and the abundance of shared microorganisms in feces at the post-feeding stage were found to be the highest. This study indicates that prenatal colonization occurs in White King pigeons. Notably, within the first week after birth, the intestinalgut microbial composition of young pigeons becomes stablestabilizes. Furthermore, the colostrum serves as the most significant driver for the establishment of intestinal microfloramicrobiota in squab post-birth. The findings of this study suggest that microorganisms can be added to artificial pigeon milk based on the predominant microbial composition of colostrum. This approach could facilitate the establishment of intestinalgut microfloramicrobiota in young pigeons, thereby promoting their growth and development and providing production benefits.