Everyone can understand what a bad “stomach-ache” feels like. Unfortunately, chickens have it the worst! Bacteria called Clostridium perfringens cause necrotic enteritis (NE) in chickens. These bacteria normally lives in the intestines but can sometimes also produce toxins. These toxins kill the tissue of the intestine resulting in the bird dying as well. So many factors determine this such as feed, stress and immune status. Normally this disease was prevented by using antibiotics in the feed. However, in Canada these antibiotics have been banned. Additionally, probiotics in the feed were also a tool to reduce the incidence of NE. We have found that probiotics sprayed onto incubating eggs allow for the “good bacteria” in probiotics to colonize the intestine of embryos before they even hatch. This allows for a head start once they hatch and maturing their gut microbiome early. We will be continuing our study of probiotic delivery during the incubation period and changes in gut microbiome.