Evaluation of Hydrolyzed Feather Meal and Zinc Bacitracin Supplements of Various Purities in Diets of Young Turkeys

Abstract

Diets varying in content of hydrolyzed feather meal and zinc bacitracin supplements of various purities were fed to 1728 turkeys from one day to seven or eight weeks of age. Hydrolyzed feather meal added at 5.0% with 3.77% ground yellow corn in the place of 8.77% soybean meal did not affect body weights but decreased feed consumption by 2.3% and increased feed efficiency by 1.9%, reflecting the corresponding increase in energy content of the diets. The observed increase in feed efficiency of 1.9 ± .6% was not significantly different from .8% expected based on a reported 2227 kilocalories of metabolizable energy per kilogram for hydrolyzed feather meal. Bacitracin increased body weights 5.8 and 5.1% when added to diets at 11.0 and 27.6 ppm in the first two experiments, and 1.4, 3.7, and 7.6% when added at 5.5, 11.0, and 27.6 ppm, respectively, in the last two experiments. Pure zinc bacitracin increased body weight as much as equivalent amounts from a crude feed grade source, indicating that zinc bacitracin is the active component and that the carrier is the crude source is apparently inactive material.