Turkey Poults Research Articles

Riboflavin supply strategies in male turkey production including either supply of alfalfa silage or free-range access in organic farming

Abstract The objective of this study was to determine an optimal riboflavin supply strategy for an organically reared and fattened male fast-growing turkey line including supply of silage and free-range access. A total of 768 one-day old B.U.T. 6 turkey poults were allocated to one out of four riboflavin supply strategies and raised in 5 feeding phases (P1-P5). In each phase, concentrate based diets were formulated with different riboflavin contents. In the “Low” diet (L) riboflavin content was according to the NRC/GfE riboflavin recommendations (4.0, 4.0, 2.9, 2.4 and 2.4Â mg/kg diet in P1-P5) and the “High” diet (H) it was twice the level of the L diet. In the rearing (P1Â +Â P2) and fattening period (P3-P5) animals received either the L or H diet resulting in 4 riboflavin supply strategies (LL, LH, HL and HH). From day 56 (P3-P5) different feeding strategies were provided: concentrate based diets only (C), C with additional alfalfa silage (C+Si) or C with free-range access to pasture (C+Pa). Results showed that the riboflavin strategy had no influence on growth and slaughter performance or on the liver measurements (PÂ >Â 0.05). As compared to C, supplemental silage or free-range access decreased the total concentrate feed intake by about 5Â kg (8%) and 10Â kg (16%) for the C+Pa and C+Si groups, respectively (PÂ <Â 0.05). However, at day 140 final body weights of all treatments were on a high level. The dressing percentage of all groups was equal, but the breast muscle portion of the C+Pa treatment was significantly higher than in the other groups (PÂ <Â 0.05). In conclusion riboflavin recommendations on the level of NRC/GfE are sufficient for fast growing male turkeys in organic farming systems. High performance levels can be realized using supplemental alfalfa silage or pasture from free-range access with a simultaneous reduction in concentrate feed intake.

Impact of Eimeria meleagrimitis and intermittent amprolium treatment on performance and the gut microbiome composition of Turkey poults.

Drug-sensitive live coccidiosis vaccines have been used to control coccidiosis and renew drug sensitivity in commercial chicken operations. However, only limited species coverage vaccines have been available for commercial turkey producers. This study aimed to assess the effect of an E. meleagrimitis vaccine candidate, with and without amprolium intervention, on performance and oocyst shedding. Additionally, the effect of vaccination, amprolium treatment, and E. meleagrimitis challenge on intestinal integrity and microbiome composition was evaluated. Experimental groups included: (1) NC (non-vaccinated, non-challenged control); (2) PC (non-vaccinated, challenged control); (3) VX + Amprol (E. meleagrimitis candidate vaccine + amprolium); and 4) VX (E. meleagrimitis candidate vaccine). For VX groups, 50% of the direct poults were orally vaccinated at DOH with 50 sporulated E. meleagrimitis oocysts and were comingled with contact or non-vaccinated poults for the duration of the study. From d10-14, VX + Amprol group received amprolium (0.024%) in the drinking water. All groups except NC were orally challenged with 95K E. meleagrimitis sporulated oocysts/mL/poult at d23. At d29, ileal and cecal contents were collected for 16S rRNA gene-based microbiome analysis. VX did not affect performance during the pre-challenge period. At d23-29 (post-challenge), VX groups had significantly (P < 0.05) higher BWG than the PC group. Contacts and directs of VX groups in LS had significantly reduced compared to PC. As anticipated, amprolium treatment markedly reduced fecal and litter OPG for the VX + Amprol group compared to the VX group which did not receive amprolium. The ileal and cecal content results showed that the PC group had different bacterial diversity and structure, including alpha and beta diversity, compared to NC. Linear discriminant analysis Effect Size (LEfSe) identified that Lactobacillus salivarius (ASV2) was enriched in PC's ileal and cecal content. Compared to NC and PC, the vaccinated groups showed no distinct clusters, but there were similarities in the ileal and cecal communities based on Bray-Curtis and Jaccard distances. In conclusion, these results indicate that vaccination with this strain of E. meleagrimitis, with or without amprolium intervention, caused a very mild infection that induced protective immunity and challenge markedly affected both the ileal and cecal microbiome.

Effect of Dietary Supplementation of Ferrous Sulphate on the Blood Biochemical Attributes and Development of Digestive Organs of Turkey Poults

The present study was conducted during February–April, 2020 in the Department of Poultry Science, Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Pashu Chikitsa Vigyan Vishwavidyalaya Evam Go-Anusandhan Sansthan, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, India to assess the effect of dietary supplementation of ferrous sulphate on the blood biochemical attributes of turkey poults. Nighty six straight run day old turkey poults were placed into four treatment groups, each with three replicates and eight turkey poults in each replicate. The poults were kept in a system with deep litter. The experiment was carried out on turkey poults aged 0 to 8 weeks. In the experiment, (control) basal diet, supplemented with FeSO4 @ 80 mg kg-1 diet, supplemented with FeSO4 @ 120 mg kg-1 diet, and supplemented with FeSO4 @ 160 mg kg-1 diet were provided to the poults. Blood was collected at the end of the experiment. Length and weight of different digestive organs were measured separately at 8 weeks of age after sacrificing birds. Plasma was separated and stored in refrigerator (-20°C) until analyzed. The data obtained showed that there was no significant difference in plasma total proteins, uric acid, ALT, AST, ALP, plasma cholesterol, plasma HDL, SOD, ROS, LPO values and development of digestive organs among different treatment groups. Further studies can be done by assessing the effect on blood biochemicals and digestive organ development of poultry birds by supplementing organic Fe chelates.

Dietary muramidase improved growth performance, feed efficiency, breast meat yield, and welfare of turkeys from hatch to market

Muramidase is an enzyme that hydrolyzes peptidoglycans of bacterial cell walls and improves performance of broilers in a dose-dependent manner. An experiment was conducted to evaluate muramidase supplementation, at a high or step-down dose, in turkeys from hatch to market. Male, B.U.T. 6 turkey poults were placed in 24 floor pens at 32 birds per pen. Poults were fed 1 of 3 diets from d 1 to 126 of age. There were 8 replicate pens per treatment. The treatments were a control (CTL) diet, the CTL plus muramidase at 45,000 LSU(F)/kg from phase 1 to 6 (BAL45), and the CTL plus muramidase at 45,000 LSU(F)/kg from phase 1 to 3 and decreased to 25,000 LSU(F)/kg from phase 4 to 6 (BAL45-25). Data were analyzed using SAS. The model included treatment and block and means were separated by Fisher LSD test. Birds fed BAL45 were heavier (P < 0.05) and had a greater (P < 0.05) average daily gain compared with birds fed the CTL from hatch to d 126 of age. Birds fed BAL45-25 had a final BW and average daily gain intermediate to or equivalent to birds fed BAL45 at the same phases. Feed conversion ratio was improved (P < 0.05) in birds fed BAL45 compared with birds fed the CTL and intermediate in birds fed BAL45-25. Breast meat yield was greater (P < 0.05) in turkeys fed muramidase, regardless of dose, compared with birds fed the CTL. There was no effect of treatment on muramic acid content in the jejunum digesta or litter scores. The frequency of pododermatitis score 1 was greater (P < 0.05) and score 2 was lower (P < 0.05) in birds fed muramidase, regardless of dose, compared with birds fed the CTL diet. In conclusion, muramidase supplementation improved performance, breast meat yield, feed efficiency and some markers of welfare, proportional to the dose in the diets.

Hatching Traits and Growth of Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) Poults under Sudan Conditions

The objectives of this study were to determine the hatchingtraits, brooding growth performance and mortality of turkey (Meleagrisgallopavo) poults under Sudan conditions. Six hundred fertile eggs werebrought from France and hatched in Khartoum during March 8 to April 62011 and poult brooding was conducted at the University of Bahri Farmfrom April 6 to May 4 2011. The results showed that turkey egg had98.83 % fertility, 79.26 % hatchability of total eggs, 80.2 % hatchabilityof fertile eggs, 61.9 % of first class poults from total eggs incubated, 77 %first class poults from eggs hatched. Poults weighed 49.52 100.02, 183.78,332.18 and 548.84 g at one day old and at the end of weeks, 1, 2, 3 and 4,respectively. Mortality was 7.37 % and 100 % for first and second classpoults, respectively. This is the first study done on turkey under Sudanconditions. It is hoped that this study may be a pioneer to invite more indepth research on turkey specially now when poultry industry is booming.

Genetic parameters of fear-related behaviors in Nigerian indigenous turkey poults: A pilot study

Accurate estimates of genetic parameters will enable turkey breeders to determine the effect of selection on fear-related behaviors in breeding programs. Currently, no published reports exist on genetic parameters of fear-related behaviors in Nigerian indigenous turkey (NIT). The objective of this pilot study was to estimate genetic parameters of fear-related behaviors in NIT poults to know the relative contribution of genes and environment to these traits. Three behavioral tests were used as measures of fear response in randomly selected 200 NIT poults generated from mating of 10 sires and 20 dams. Emergence, inversion and open field tests were conducted at 9, 12, and 14 days of age, respectively. Fear tests were conducted in early life to measure innate fear and not learned fear. Heritability, genetic and phenotypic correlations were estimated for latency to emerge from a dark box (EMG), duration of wing flapping during inversion (INV), and behavioral activities performed during open field test such as preening frequency (PN), preening duration (PD), wall pecking duration (DPW), number of times a bird rested on its chest (NRC), duration of movement (DM), total number of floor squares explored (BE) and percentage of floor squares explored (PBC). Variance and covariance parameters of the fear-related behaviors were estimated using restricted maximum likelihood method. Heritability estimates ranged from very low to moderate. The lowest heritability (0.004) was estimated for NRC performed during the open field test while the highest heritability (0.364) was estimated for EMG. All genetic correlations between all pairs of fear-related behaviors were low except between INV and NRC (0.8132); INV and DM (0.7326), and between INV and PN (0.7115). Positive phenotypic correlations were found between INV and other fear-related behaviors while negative phenotypic correlations were found between NRC and the other fear-related behaviors. The highest phenotypic correlation was found between INV and BE (0.9985) while the lowest was between EMG and NRC (-0.0001). The very low to moderate heritability estimated for most of the fear-related behaviors indicates little genetic contribution to fear-related behaviors in NIT, suggesting that fearfulness can be best reduced in these birds by improving the rearing environment. The high genetic correlation between INV and NRC; DPW and PN; INV and DM as well as between INV and PN may indicate that the genes that contribute to these pairs of fear-related behaviors are co-inherited.

Effect of Stocking Density on Skeletal Development of Turkey Poults

Stocking density is one of the important aspects of housing management. Increased stocking density can influence the skeletal development of broilers negatively and can increase the leg abnormalities thereby generating welfare issue for the same. To study the effect of stocking density, an experiment was conducted at poultry farm, DUVASU, Mathura. Week old turkey poults were distributed randomly on uniform body weight basis in three treatment groups- T-1: standard stocking density (2.5 ft2 per bird); T-2: high stocking density (1.25 ft2 per bird) and T-3: low stocking density (5 ft2 per bird). Tibia and femur were separated from the sacrificed birds and dried in oven at 1050C for 72 hours. There after cooling down to room temperature, the bones were weighed. Digital radiographs of the bones were taken. The dimensions and thickness of the bones were measured. Average femur length was found to be significantly higher (p&lt;0.01) in standard and high SD treatments than the low SD treatment. Radiographic density of Tibia medulla was found to be significantly higher (p&lt;0.01) in low SD treatment than the other two SD treatments.

Molecular and Biochemical Characterization of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Isolated from a Turkey Flock

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a Gram-negative, aerobic, mostly motile, non-spore-forming, catalase-positive bacterium responsible for nosocomial infections, food and waterborne diseases in the human population, and infection of different organs in avian species. Because of the emergence of multidrug-resistant isolates in recent years, the occurrence of infection in pet avian species or poultry can lead to severe infection in the human population. This study reports an infection in turkey poults related to Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Overall, eight 4-day-old dead turkey chicks were presented to SANA Avian Hospital to diagnose the cause of death. For this purpose after necropsy, liver and bone marrow were sampled and cultured on blood agar. Then other complementary biochemical tests were performed to achieve a primary diagnosis. After the primary diagnosis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection, at the next step, PCR was used for definitive diagnosis and evaluation of virulence factors. Finally, the agar disk diffusion method determined antimicrobial resistance to some common medications, and results were interpreted by Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines.

Impact of Storage Time on the Composition of a Finished Compost Product: A Case Study

Highlights The concentrations of major plant nutrients, key minor plant nutrients, and carbon were measured for finished turkey poult litter compost that had been stored for 29 to 583 days in open windrows at a commercial composting facility. It was found that the concentrations of TN, P2O5, K2O, and minor plant nutrients were not significantly correlated with respect to compost age. Significant negative correlations were observed for the concentrations of organic matter and carbon resulting in a decrease in C:N. Significant decreases in compost pH and increases in bulk density were also observed. Abstract. Several studies have provided information concerning the loss of nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, carbon, and organic matter from manures and plant residues during active composting. However, very little information was found to provide insight into the changes in compost composition as the product ages during curing and storage in uncovered windrows. The objective of this study was to observe changes in compost composition after it was removed from a composting shed and was stored in large un-covered windrows at a compost production site that used turkey poult litter (manure and wood shavings) as the primary ingredient. Compost samples and production records were obtained for 7 windrows and it was determined that the active composting time under the shed (AC) averaged 99 days and the time allowed for curing and storage in the uncovered windrows (CS) ranged from 29 to 583 days. As a result, the total compost age (CA = AC + CS) at the time of sampling ranged from 131 to 674 days. The quantities measured were moisture, pH, bulk density, electrical conductivity (EC), carbon (C). organic matter (OM), total ammoniacal N (TAN = NH4+-N + NH3-N), nitrate-N, organic-N, total-N (TN), P2O5, K2O, Ca, Mg, S, Zn, Cu, Mn, Fe, Na, and Al. The TN content was not found to change significantly while being stored in the outside windrows. However, the TAN content decreased significantly with storage time while nitrate-N and organic-N concentrations increased. The results showed evidence of nitrification of ammonium-N and a build-up of organic-N during storage. Storage time did not significantly impact concentrations of P2O5, K2O, Al, Na, and all minor plant nutrients measured. The pH fell from 8.9 at a compost age of 131 days to a mean of 6.8 by day 363 providing evidence of formation of organic acids during storage. Significant decreases during storage were observed for C, OM, and C:N. The rate of organic matter loss during storage was -0.623 g OM/kg DM/day and carbon was lost at the rate of -0.447 g C/kg DM/day. The electrical conductivity was not correlated with storage time and the mean was 3.80 ± 3.25 mmhos/cm. The bulk density increased significantly during curing and storage (R2 = 0.693) and was believed to be the result of compression settling. Keywords: Compost, Manure Management, Plant nutrients, Treatment.

Study of the prevalence of Salmonella Arizonae infection in backyard and commercial turkey flocks in Golestan, Mazandaran, Gilan, and Tehran provinces

Arizona infection or avian arizonosis (AA) is an acute or chronic egg-transmitted disease of primarily young turkey poults characterized by septicemia, neurological signs, blindness, and increased mortality, caused by caused by the bacterium Salmonella enterica subsp. Arizonae (S. Arizonae ). This study investigated the infection rate of Salmonella Arizonae in backyard and commercial turkeys of Golestan, Mazandaran, Gilan, and Tehran provinces. Fecal samples taken from industrial and backyard turkeys were transferred to cysteine selenite enrichment medium, incubated at 37° C for 24 hours, and then cultured linearly in selected media of Chromagar, Salmonella-Shigela, XLD, and McConkey agar plates and exposed to 37° C for 24 hours. Suspected Salmonella colonies were cultured in differentiated TSI and urea medium for confirmation and incubated at 37° C for 24 h. In this study, the microbial culture method was used by pre-enrichment, specific, and differential media to determine the level of contamination of backyard and industrial turkey flocks in four provinces of Golestan, Mazandaran, Gilan, and Tehran. All samples were tested for Salmonella infection, but positive samples were not found for Salmonella. Only 22 specimens were infected with Proteus. Our information about the Iranian turkey industry is limited compared to worldwide studies. This may be due to Iran's less widespread use of turkey production. The non-isolation of Salmonella in this study is inconsistent with some of the few studies in the country, which may be due to differences in the type of sampling, geographical location, and materials and methods of work. Due to the growth of the turkey industry in the country, the importance of studying Salmonella and other pathogens is felt more than ever.

Protective Efficacy of Inactivated H9N2 Vaccine in Turkey Poults under Both Experimental and Field Conditions.

Low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) H9N2 virus is one of the major poultry pathogens associated with severe economic losses in the poultry industry (broiler, layers, breeders, and grandparents' flocks), especially in endemic regions including the Middle East, North Africa, and Asian countries. This work is an attempt to evaluate the efficacy of whole inactivated H9N2 vaccine (MEFLUVACTM H9) in turkey poults kept under laboratory and commercial farm conditions. Here, 10,000 white turkey poults (1-day old) free from maternally derived immunity against H9N2 virus were divided into four groups; G1 involved 10 vaccinated birds kept under biosafety level-3 (BLS-3) as a laboratory vaccinated and challenged group, while G2 had 9970 vaccinated turkeys raised on a commercial farm. Ten of those birds were moved to BLS-3 for daily cloacal and tracheal swabbing to check for the absence of any life-threating disease, before conducting analyses. G3 (10 birds) served as a non-vaccinated challenged control under BSL-3 conditions, while G4 (10 birds) was used as a non-vaccinated and non-challenged control under BSL-3 conditions. Sera were collected on days 7-, 14-, 21-, and 28-post-vaccinations to monitor the humoral immune response using a hemagglutination-inhibition (HI) test. At these same intervals, cloacal and tracheal swabs were also checked for any viral infection. The challenge was conducted 28 days post-vaccination (PV) using AI-H9N2 in BSL-3 by intranasal inoculation of 6-log10 embryo infective dose50 (EID50). At 3-, 6-, and 10-days post-challenge, oropharyngeal swabs were taken from challenged birds to quantify viral shedding by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The results of this study showed that vaccinated groups (G1/2) developed HI titers of 1.38, 4.38, 5.88, and 7.25 log2 in G1 vs. 1.2, 3.8, 4.9 and 6.2 log2 in G2 when measured at 7-, 14-, 21- and 28-days PV, respectively, while undetectable levels were recorded in non-vaccinated groups (G3/4). Birds in G3 showed 90% clinical sickness vs. 10% and 20% in G1/2, respectively, over a 10-day monitoring period following challenge. Vaccinated birds showed a significant reduction in virus shedding in terms of the number of shedders, amount of shed virus and shedding interval over the non-vaccinated challenged birds. Regarding mortality, all groups did not show any mortality, which confirms that the circulating H9N2 virus still has low pathogenicity and cannot cause mortality. However, the virus may cause up to 90% clinical sickness in non-vaccinated birds vs. 10% and 20% in laboratory- and farm-vaccinated birds, respectively, highlighting the role of the vaccine in limiting clinical sickness cases. In conclusion, under the current trial circumstances, MEFLUVACTM-H9 provided protective seroconversion titers, significant clinical sickness protection and significant reduction in virus shedding either in laboratory- or farm-vaccinated groups after a single vaccine dose.

Field monitoring of Hemorrhagic Enteritis Virus (HEV)- maternally derived antibodies (MDA) kinetics in turkey poults

Field monitoring of Hemorrhagic Enteritis Virus (HEV)- maternally derived antibodies (MDA) kinetics in turkey poults

Targeted detection and molecular epidemiology of turkey coronavirus spike gene variants in turkeys and chickens.

Turkey coronavirus (TCoV) is a member of the Avian coronavirus species with infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), which is considered to be the source of TCoV. These 2 viruses are highly similar in all regions of their genomes, except for the spike gene, which is necessary for virus attachment. Although TCoV causes severe enteric disease in turkey poults, it does not cause clinical disease in chickens. However, considering that TCoV can infect chickens, it is important to distinguish TCoV from IBV in chickens. This is particularly true for chickens that are housed near turkeys and thus might be infected with TCoV and serve as a silent source of TCoV for turkeys. We developed and validated a real-time PCR assay to detect the spike gene of TCoV and sequenced a portion of this gene to evaluate the molecular epidemiology of TCoV infections associated with a commercial turkey premises in the United States in 2020-2021. We identified natural infections of TCoV in chickens, and based on the molecular epidemiology of the viruses detected, these chickens may have served as a source of infection for the commercial turkey premises located nearby.

Infection and transmission dynamics of Turkey arthritis reovirus in different age Turkeys

Turkey arthritis reovirus (TARV) has been established as a cause of lameness in meat type turkeys in the past decade. However, no information is available on the age susceptibility of TARV or its transmission dynamics. We conducted this study to determine the age at which turkey poults are susceptible to TARV infection and whether infected birds can horizontally transmit the virus to their non-infected pen mates (sentinels). Five groups of turkeys were orally inoculated with TARV (∼106 TCID50/ml) at 2, 7, 14, 21 and 28 days of age (DOA). Two days after each challenge, four uninfected sentinel turkeys of equal age were added to the virus-inoculated groups. At one- and two-weeks post infection, turkeys from each group, including two sentinels, were euthanized followed by necropsy. Inoculated birds in all age groups had TARV replication in the intestine and gastrocnemius tendon with no statistically significant variation at p < 0.5. Furthermore, the inoculated birds at different age groups showed consistently high gastrocnemius tendon histologic lesion scores while birds in the 28-days-old age group had numerically lower lesion scores at 14 days post inoculation (dpi). The sentinels, in turn, also showed virus replication in their intestines and tendons and histologic lesions in gastrocnemius tendons. The findings indicate that turkeys at the age of 28 days or less are susceptible to infection with TARV following oral challenge. It was also found that TARV-infected birds could transmit the infection to naïve sentinel turkeys of the same age.

The effectiveness of methods to diagnose eimeriosis in turkeys on industrial farms and the species identification

The purpose of the research is a comparative assessment of the effectiveness of methods to diagnose eimeriosis in turkeys and the species identification.Materials and methods. A comparative effectiveness assessment of life-time diagnostic methods for eimeriosis in turkey poults was conducted using coproscopic examinations: with sodium chloride alone, and with sodium chloride and glycerin according to Darling; with sodium chloride and glucose according to McMaster; and with sodium chloride alone according to Fülleborn. The diagnostic strength of different methods was evaluated with Eimeria oocysts artificially placed in standard litter samples free from infection. Morphological examinations and characteristics determination of Eimeria species in the turkey poults were conducted in the laboratory after the completed sporulation.Results and discussion. The diagnostic strength of the Fülleborn’s flotation method for turkey eimeriosis was 62.4%, 79.2% for the combined Darling1 methods, 85.6% for the combined Darling2 methods, and 90.4% for the McMaster’s methods. The combined Darling’s and McMaster’s methods used by us provide, according to their technology, for double centrifugation: water settling and flotation with saline, thus the microscopically examined sample contained not so many feed residues or other particles, which affected the diagnostic strength of the method. The young turkeys from the Penza and Moscow Regions’ farms were found to have the following types of Eimeria: Eimeria meleagrimitis in 62–80%, E. meleagridis in 15–16%, E. adenoides in 5–13%, and E. gallopavonis in 9%. E. meleagrimitis and E. meleagridis dominated on the turkey farms in the said regions. E. adenoides and E. gallopavonis were significantly less common.

The sarcoplasmic protein profile of breast muscle in Turkeys in response to different dietary ratios of limiting amino acids and Clostridium perfringens-induced inflammation

In this study, the effects of the Arginine/Lysine (Arg/Lys) ratio in low- and high-methionine (Met) diets on the sarcoplasmic protein profile of breast muscles from turkeys reared under optimal or challenge (Clostridium perfringens infection) conditions were determined. One-day-old Hybrid Converter female turkey poults (216 in total) obtained from a commercial hatchery on hatching day, and on the basis of their average initial body weight were randomly allocated to 12 pens (4 m2 each; 2.0 m × 2.0 m) containing litter bedding and were reared over a 42-day experimental period. Diets with high levels of Lys contained approximately 1.80% and 1.65% Lys and were offered in two successive feeding periods (days 1–28 and days 29–42). The supplemental levels of Lys were consistent with the nutritional specifications for birds at their respective ages as established in the Management Guidelines for Raising Commercial Turkeys. The experiment was based on a completely randomized 3 × 2 × 2 factorial design with three levels of Arg (90%, 100% and 110%) relative to the content of dietary Met (30 or 45%) and without (−) or with (+) C. perfringens challenge at 34, 36, or 37 d of age. Meat samples were investigated in terms of pH, color, and sarcoplasmic protein profile. The experimental factors did not influence meat quality but the dietary Arg content affected meat color. The sarcoplasmic protein profile was influenced by all studied factors, and glycolytic enzymes were the most abundant. This study evidenced strong association between the challenge conditions and the involvement of glycolytic enzymes in cell metabolism, particularly in inflammatory processes, and DNA replication and maintenance in turkeys. The results showed an effect of C. perfringens infection and feeding with different doses of Arg and Met may lead to significant consequences in cell metabolism.

Effect of phytase supplementation and drinking water pH for turkey poults

A study was conducted to evaluate the effects of high phytase doses and drinkable water pH on diets for turkey poults on growth performance, nutrient and energy utilization, bone mineralization, and myo-inositol absorption. A total of 420 one-d-old turkey poults were randomly distributed into a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement with 2 water pH levels (5.5 and 8.2) and 3 phytase doses: 0, 1,000, and 2,500 units of phytase (FYT)/kg of diet totaling 6 treatments and 7 replicates of 10 turkeys. Excreta was collected to determine apparent nutrient total tract retention, and ileal digesta was used to determined apparent ileal nutrient digestibility (AID) at 21 d. Phytase linearly improved body weight gain and feed conversion ratio (P < 0.05), whereas water intake was not affected, and water pH did not influence growth performance. Phytase linearly increased AID of crude protein and P, as well as apparent total tract retention of dry matter, crude protein, Ca, and Na (P < 0.05) regardless of water pH. Detected interactions (P < 0.05) showed a linear increase on AID of dry matter and energy utilization at both ileal and total tract levels, which was more pronounced when turkeys drank 5.5 water pH, whereas AID of Ca was only increased by phytase supplementation in combination with alkaline water. Ash, Ca, and P contents in the tibia, as well as plasma concentration of myo-inositol were linearly increased in supplemented chickens, but not affected by water pH. The interactions between phytase and water pH on diet utilization provided conflicting results, but increasing the phytase dose to 2500 FYT increased overall nutrient digestibility, leading to better growth performance, bone mineralization, and greater inositol provision for turkey poults.

Traditional sexing methods and external egg characteristics combination allow highly accurate early sex determination in an endangered native turkey breed.

Early sex determination methods are not only crucial in the worldwide massive poultry industry, but also for small-holder producers. The profitability of sexing techniques must be accounted for when aiming to boost management, nutrition, and conservation practices in endangered poultry breeds. This becomes pivotal when the local breed dealt with belongs to an understudied species, such as the turkey. So, the main objective of this study is to identify which method combination may report a higher likelihood of successful sex determination in poults across the three-pattern varieties of the Andalusian turkey breed. A total of 84 one to two days old Andalusian turkey poults (42 black, 28 black-roan, and 14 bronze-roan) were evaluated in this study. Sex determination was performed using 15 methods, which included testing external egg metrics and eggshell color, poult morphological appraisal and phaneroptics, and behavioral traits. Possible differences across plumage varieties and the interaction between sex and plumage were observed when external egg quality was measured. Sex determination through behavioral methods in black base feathered (black and black-roan) male sex individuals showed seven times higher sensitivity when compared to the rest of the studied individuals (χ2 = 7.14, df = 1, P < 0.01). In contrast, for the black-roan plumage females, the method based on the color of down feathers was approximately four times more sensitive (χ2 = 3.95, df = 1, P ≤ 0.05). For the bronze-roan pattern, none of the sexing techniques was reported to efficiently predict sex itself. However, the most proper method combination to determine sex, independent of plumage color, was physical external egg characteristics, the color of down feathers, and behavioral approaches (“English method” and “slap technique”). The specificity values were found to be 49.12, 93.33, and 100%, while the sensitivity values were observed to be 74.64, 91.03, and 100%, which translated into accuracy of 63.10, 92.26, and 100% in black, black-roan, and bronze-roan poults, respectively. Our results suggest that the method combination tested in this study could be considered a highly accurate, simple, and affordable alternative for sex determination in turkeys. This could mean a pivotal advance for small producers of turkeys, as early sex detection can help to plan timely conservational management strategies, which is of prominent importance in the context of endangered poultry breeds.

Administration of Branched-Chain Amino Acids in the Pre- or Post-Hatch Period Improves the Fiber Characteristics of Pectoralis major Muscle in Turkey Poults Subjected to Early or Delayed Feeding

Poultry meat quality is controlled by muscle fiber properties associated with body weight gain in the immediate pre- or post-hatch period. This study aimed to determine the effect of administration of branched-chain amino acids blend (BCAAb, 3 L-leucine:1 L-isoleucine:2 L-valine) in the pre- or post-hatch period on the growth performance and fiber characteristics of the Pectoralis major (PM) muscle in turkey poults subjected to early or delayed feeding. Newly hatched poults from eggs injected in ovo with BCAAb or received no injection were used in a 21-d study. Poults (n=192) produced without injection of BCAAb received a starter diet supplemented (BCAA) or not (C) with the BCAAb (2 g/kg) immediately or with a delay of 48 h (48BCAA and 48C) after hatching. Poults (n=36) produced with (IOBCAA) in ovo injection of BCAAb (2 mg /ml) received the diet and water immediately. The BCAA and IOBCAA poults had higher body weight than those of the C, 48C, and 48BCAA birds. The body weight of the C poults was higher than those of the 48C and 48BCAA birds. The BCAA poults had higher PM muscle weight than those of the C and 48C poults, while that of the IOBCAA poults was higher than that of the 48C poults. The IOBCAA treatment increased the protein content of the PM muscle meat, compared with the C and 48C treatments. The 48C treatment increased the type IIB fiber area and the type I and type IIA fiber percentages but decreased the type IIB fiber, compared with other treatments. The numbers of type IIB and total fibers in the IOBCAA poults were higher than those of the 48C birds. In conclusion, administering BCAAb in ovo or in a starter diet enhanced early growth performance and improved the fiber characteristics of the PM muscle in turkey poults.

Effect of Dietary Supplementation of Ferrous Sulphate on Growth, Immunocompetence Traits, Carcass Quality and Meat Composition of Turkey Poults

Background: Inorganic iron compounds have a positive effect on the health and growth of the broiler chickens. However, limited work has been done in Turkeys. Thus a study was conducted to assess the effect of dietary supplementation of ferrous sulphate on the growth, immunocompetence traits, carcass quality and meat composition of Turkey poults. Methods: Day old turkey poults (n=96) were distributed into four treatment groups (T1, T2, T3 and T4) having 3 replicates of 8 birds each. The poults inT1 were fed (control) basal diet, while for birds in T2, T3 and T4, FeSO4 was supplemented @ 80, 120 and 160 mg/kg of feed, respectively. Result: Weekly body weight gain was significantly higher in T4 than T1 and T2 birds at 6th (P less than 0.01) and 7th week (P less than 0.05). Phase wise body weight gain was also significantly higher (P less than 0.05) in T4 than T1 and T2 during 4 to 8 weeks and 0 to 8 weeks (P less than 0.01). Weekly feed conversion ratio of T4 group was significantly better (P less than 0.01) at 6th week and 7th week than T1 and T2 group birds. The birds fed with T4 had significantly (P less than 0.05) higher foot web index compared to T1 and T2 group birds. Iron supplemented groups had significantly (P less than 0.01) higher dressing per cent. T4 had significantly (P less than 0.05) higher deposition of iron in thigh muscle. Thus, dietary supplementation of FeSO4 @ 160 mg/kg resulted in better growth performance, immunity, significantly higher dressing per cent and significantly higher deposition of iron in thigh meat cuts.