Excessive fat deposition in full-fed Bearded chickens does not only reduce carcass yield but also causes consumer rejection of meat. Feed restriction (FR) is an effective method to save on feed cost, reduce carcass fat deposition, and improve meat quality. A total of 560 150-d Bearded chickens were randomly divided into seven groups (each with eight replicates of ten birds) for 40 days. The control group was fed with the basal diet ad libitum (CON), and the other six groups were fed with 90% of the feed intake (90% FI), 80% FI, 70% FI, 90% metabolizable energy (90% ME), 80% ME, and 70% ME of the CON, respectively. Compared to the CON group, FR increased meat yield, but the total weight of the Bearded chickens was slighter; 80% FI and 70% ME improved the relative lipid metabolism indices of chickens, especially the levels of triglycerides and total cholesterol in the plasma and liver (p < 0.05), and decreased calpastatin activity in the breast muscle (p < 0.05). Additionally, 16S rRNA sequencing of cecal microbial community indicated that an increase in the abundance of Hydrogenoanaerobacterium and Bacteroides plebeius was observed in the 80% FI group (p < 0.05), and an enrichment in Olsenella, Catabacter, and Lachnospiraceae were observed in the 70% ME group (p < 0.05) compared to the CON group. Moreover, compared to the CON group, the L * value of the breast muscle significantly decreased, and a * value significantly increased in the 80% FI group (p < 0.05). Notably, the concentrations of threonine, lysine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, proline, and arginine and the activity of calpain in breast muscle increased in the 80% FI group more than in the CON group (p < 0.05), while valine, isoleucine, leucine, phenylalanine, lysine, alanine, tyrosine and proline decreased in ME restriction groups (p < 0.05). Taken together, our results indicated that 80% FI could improve lipid metabolism by changing the structure of the cecal microbial community, and the meat quality and flavor of the Bearded chickens in 80% FI group was improved with a promoted meat color score, flavor substances, and the calproteinase system.
Keywords: Bearded chickens; cecal microbial community; feed restriction; flavor; meat quality.