show Abstracthide AbstractThe microbiome dynamics during the early growth phase are an essential aspect of the development of chickens. In this study, we used 16S rRNA sequencing to investigate the spatio-temporal succession of the gastrointestinal microbiota (crop, small intestine, and ceca) across three growth stages (3, 28, and 35 days) in Kadaknath, the high-value black indigenous Indian chicken breed, raised in free-range conditions.