Effects of chicken slurry inclusion on apparent total tract macronutrient digestibility, palatability, and fecal characteristics, microbiota, and metabolites of healthy adult dogs

“Premium” pet foods are often formulated with meat slurries. Meat slurries are believed to be of higher quality than rendered meals, but inadequate research has been performed to test how their inclusion affects palatability, digestibility, or indicators of gastrointestinal health. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to determine how chicken slurry inclusion affected the palatability and apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of dog foods and to assess their effects on the fecal characteristics, metabolites, and microbiota of dogs. A replicated 3 × 3 Latin square design digestibility study was conducted using 9 healthy adult dogs (age = 5.44 ± 0.53 yr) to test diets containing 0% (control; CON), 8% (low inclusion; LOW), and 16% (high inclusion; HIGH) chicken slurry. The experiment comprised three 21-d experimental periods (14 d of adaptation, 5 d of total fecal collection (used for ATTD calculations), and 2 d of blood collection). On the first day of fecal collections, one fresh sample was collected for measurement of pH, dry matter (DM) content, fermentative metabolite concentrations, and microbiota populations. A 2-d palatability study (n = 20 dogs) was also conducted to compare CON vs. HIGH. Data were analyzed statistically by Mixed Models using SAS 9.4, with P < 0.05 being significant. In the palatability study, dogs were shown to prefer (P < 0.05) the HIGH diet by a ratio of 2:1. In the digestibility study, fecal output, scores, pH, and DM percentage were not different among diets. The ATTD of protein was higher (P < 0.05) for the HIGH diet (84.6%) than for the LOW (82.7%) or CON (82.6%) diets. The ATTD of other nutrients and energy were not different among diets (all over 80%). Fecal propionate, butyrate, and total short-chain fatty acid concentrations were higher (P < 0.05) in dogs fed the LOW diet (122.0, 67.4, and 408.2 μmol/g, respectively) than those fed the HIGH diet (89.0, 46.9, and 338.2 μmol/g, respectively). The other fecal metabolites (acetate, branched-chain fatty acids, ammonia, phenol, and indole) were not different among treatments. Few changes to the fecal microbiota were noted. However, the relative abundance of fecal Fusobacterium was higher (P < 0.05) in dogs fed the CON diet than those fed the HIGH diet (25.7% vs. 20.0% relative abundance). In summary, chicken slurry inclusion improved palatability but had minimal effects on nutrient digestibility and fecal characteristics, metabolites, and microbiota.