The US Poultry Industry provides an economic output in excess of $440 billion annually, with over 1.5 million people employed. In Delaware, poultry production is the backbone of the state agricultural economy. Critical to this enterprise are robust and sustainable agricultural practices that allow enhanced reproductive efficiencies yielding both higher returns on investment and lower environmental waste. We address this need by employing cross-disciplinary approaches in molecular biology, nutrition, metabolomics, and microbiome studies to engineer high-yielding chicken varieties that provide enhancements in meat and egg production in tandem with robust environmental hardiness.