Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This study was approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of South China Agricultural University (Approval number: 2021C052, 2023A002). The experiment plans to purchase chicks from the Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences for the study, with the species, quantity, and grouping of animals adhering to the 3R principles. The experiments will be conducted in laboratories that meet national requirements in China, ensuring compliance with welfare principles. Following the experiment, chicks will be humanely euthanized by cervical dislocation after administration of 20% ethyl carbamate for deep general anesthesia, in strict compliance with the Guidelines for Euthanasia of Laboratory Animals‌ (GB/T 39760 − 2021). Consent for publication: The author confirms: 1. that the work described has not been published before (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, or thesis); 2. that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere; 3. that its publication has been approved by all co-authors, if any; 4. that its publication has been approved (tacitly or explicitly) by the responsible authorities at the institution where the work carried out. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.