Thermophile-Fermented Compost Reduces Hen Mortality During Heat Stress

Yudai Inabu et al. (2026) report that oral administration of compost fermented by thermophilic Bacillaceae reduced heat-stress mortality in a field study of 601,474 laying hens across eleven houses during summer (≈35 °C). Microbiome sequencing showed increases in Lachnospiraceae, Lactobacillus and SCFAs acetate and butyrate, with reductions in Romboutsia and Escherichia-Shigella. The authors link mortality reduction to gut microbial shifts and elevated SCFAs.