Appropriate cold stimulation changes energy distribution to improve stress resistance in broilers.

Cold stimulation has a great impact on broilers. Excessive cold stimulation can lead to damage, while intermittent mild cold stimulation (IMCS) can make broilers adapt to the cold environment. Low temperature will make the body produce lots of heat to maintain metabolic stability. The liver controls the energy metabolism, and the avian livers are the main organ regulating lipid metabolism. In this study, the broilers of different ages were subjected to cold stimulation training and then acute cold stress (ACS). We found that IMCS had positive effects on production performance. Through transcriptome sequencing, we found that the differentially expressed genes were highly enriched in the energy metabolism pathway, and the expression levels of the most key genes and heat shock proteins were upregulated. The stress resistance was also enhanced, which could alleviate the damage of short-term ACS to the body. The broilers gradually adapted to the low-temperature environment and finally established cold adaptation. The findings of this work will be helpful to the development of animal husbandry in cold regions and improve animal welfare.