Use of different elevated structures by commercial fattening turkeys in Switzerland

Abstract

In Switzerland, mass produced housing systems for farm animals have to be authorized by the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO) in terms of good animal welfare. In the current study, different elevated structures for fattening turkeys (i.e. wooden planks (old type) vs. plastic platforms (two new types)) were evaluated and assessed on-farm. Data on behavior (i.e. number of birds using the structures and transitions between structures and litter area) as well as on health (i.e. assessment of plumage condition, prevalence of pododermatitis and breast blisters) were collected throughout three consecutive flock cycles on a commercial turkey farm. Females used the elevated structures more than males and both sexes preferred the platforms over the planks. Use of the platforms decreased with increasing age whereas use of the planks increased until 5 weeks of age and was relatively stable until 11 weeks of age. More transitions were assessed to be problematic (i.e. including falls and/ or balancing movements) when jumping on and off the planks compared to both platforms. Health parameters varied little between flocks and sex and were in a standard range for commercial turkey production. As turkeys make good use of elevated structures, platforms rather than planks are recommended for these animals as they use them more often compared to planks and their use is associated with less problematic transitions.