Effect of crude protein concentration and dietary electrolyte balance on litter quality, foot pad dermatitis, growth performance and processing yields in two medium heavy turkey hybrids

1. An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of crude protein (CP) concentration and dietary electrolyte balance (DEB) on growth performance, processing yields, litter quality and foot pad dermatitis (FPD) in male turkeys from two commercial hybrids. Soya bean meal was replaced by vegetable protein sources selected for lower K concentrations to lower DEB in order to improve litter quality and subsequent quality of foot pads.2. Effects of CP on litter friability and wetness were not consistent during the production period. FPD in turkeys fed on diets with low CP was significantly lower than FPD in turkeys fed on diets with high CP until 84 d. Growth performance was adversely affected at low CP. Processing yields were not affected by CP.3. Litter was significantly dryer in pens of turkeys fed on diets with low DEB than in pens of turkeys fed on diets with high DEB. FPD in turkeys fed on diets with low DEB was significantly lower than in turkeys fed on diets with high DEB. Growth performance and processing yields were adversely affected at low DEB.4. FPD in turkey hybrid A was higher than in turkey hybrid B at 28 d of age. Thereafter, no differences in FPD between turkey hybrids were observed. Growth performance and processing yields were not affected by turkey hybrid.5. Overall, a significant interaction effect of CP × DEB was observed for FCR: in turkeys fed on the high DEB treatment, FCR of turkeys fed on the high CP diets was lower than FCR of turkeys fed on the low CP (LCP) diets whereas on the low DEB treatment, FCR was not affected by CP treatment.6. It was concluded that litter quality can be improved and FPD may be decreased in turkeys fed on diets containing lower CP and DEB levels.<br/

The effect of different dietary sodium levels on blood mineral concentrations and tibia mineralization in turkeys

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of different dietary levels of sodium in diets with and without sodium chloride on mineral metabolism, including blood electrolyte levels and tibia mineralization parameters, in young turkeys (to six weeks of age). The influence of diets with a low (L), medium (M) and high (H) sodium content, at 0.34, 1.34 and 2.82 g/kg respectively, was compared. The content of chloride and potassium in turkey diets (1.7 - 5.9 and 11 g/kg, respectively) was above the recommended levels. The sodium-deficient diet L decreased the serum concentrations of sodium, chloride and phosphorus, and it increased the serum levels of calcium and magnesium in turkeys, compared with groups M and H. Relative to group L, different dietary sodium levels in groups M and H contributed to a similar increase in the body weights of birds (1.06 vs. 1.46 and 1.44 kg, p<0.001) and in the absolute (4.60 vs. 6.83 and 6.62 g, p<0.001) and relative tibia weight (0.42 vs. 0.46 and 0.46% body weight, p=0.031). No significant differences were found between groups with respect to the content of ash, calcium and phosphorus in tibia dry matter. Supplemental sodium increased the bone density index (from 50.6 to 68.4 and 66.3 mg/mm in groups L, M and H, respectively, p<0.001), the maximum bending moment (from 5.27 to 7.40 and 7.33 N/mm, p=0.002) and the minimum breaking strength of tibia (from 0.136 to 0.191 and 0.189, p=0.002). In conclusion, our study indicates that the applied dietary treatment with a moderate sodium level (1.34 g/kg) resulted in a rate of bird growth and tibia mineralization similar to those observed with the treatment with much higher Na content (2.82 g/kg)

Wpływ zróżnicowanego poziomu sodu w diecie na poziom elektrolitów krwi, wzrost indyków i występowanie zapalenia skóry poduszki stopy

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of different dietary sodium levels on serum macroelement concentrations, growth performance and incidence of foot pad dermatitis (FPD) in female turkeys raised to six weeks of age. The influence of a lowsodium diet (without additional sodium) and diets supplemented with NaCl to increase sodium content by 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 g kg–1 was compared. The dietary electrolyte balance (DEB) was high (242-248 mEq kg–1) due to a high potassium content (11.0 g kg–1). Turkeys fed the low-sodium diet were characterized by significantly lower concentrations of chloride (p=0.002) and phosphorus (p<0.001), and significantly higher magnesium levels (p<0.001), compared with the other groups. The lowest dietary inclusion of sodium (0.5 g kg–1) contributed to a significant increase in the body weights of turkeys at six weeks of age (p<0.001), and it improved feed conversion efficiency (p<0.001) in comparison with the low-sodium diet. No significant differences in body weight and feed conversion ratio followed experimental treatments with higher dietary NaCl addition. Diets supplemented with different amounts of sodium had no effect on litter moisture content, whereas the incidence of FPD increased significantly following the addition of dietary sodium at 1.0 g kg–1 to 2.5 g kg–1, compared with the low-sodium diet. The results of our study indicate that moderate sodium supplementation (0.5 g kg–1) of a sodium-deficient diet significantly increased the body weights of young turkeys, while it did not increase the incidence of FPD. A further increase in the sodium content of experimental diets did not increase the body weights of birds, and it enhanced the occurrence of FPD which was not related to increased litter wetness.Celem badań było określenie wpływu różnych poziomów sodu w diecie na zawartość makrolementów w surowicy, wzrost ptaków i występowanie zapalenia skóry stóp (FPD) u indyczek w wieku sześciu tygodni życia. Porównano efekty podawania diety niskosodowej (bez dodatkowego źródła sodu) i diet z dodatkiem NaCl w ilości 0,5; 1,0; 1,5; 2.0 i 2,5 g kg–1. Ze względu na wysoką zawartość potasu w dietach (11,0 g kg–1), bilans elektrolitów (DEB) był również wysoki (242-248 mEq kg–1). U indyków żywionych dietą o niskiej zawartości sodu wykazano znacznie niższy poziom chlorku (p=0,002) i fosforu (p<0,001), a znacznie wyższy poziom magnezu (p<0,001) w surowicy krwi, w porównaniu z innymi grupami. Niewielkie zwiększenie zawartości Na w diecie (0,5 g kg–1) spowodowało istotny wzrost masy ciała indyków w wieku sześciu tygodni (p<0,001) i poprawę wykorzystania paszy (p<0,001), w porównaniu z diet¹ bez dodatku Na. Nie stwierdzono istotnych różnic w masie ciała i wykorzystaniu paszy u indyków otrzymujących diety z dodatkiem NaCl. Dodatek NaCl do diety nie wpłynął na wilgotność ściółki, natomiast występowanie FPD istotnie nasiliło się w grupach otrzymujących dodatek 1,0 i 2,5 g kg–1 Na, w porównaniu z dietą bez dodatku sodu. Stwierdzono, że umiarkowany dodatek sodu (0,5 g kg–1) do diety ubogiej w ten pierwiastek istotnie zwiększa masę ciała młodych indyków, a nie zwiększa częstości występowania FPD. Dalszy wzrost zawartości sodu w diecie nie zwiększa masy ciała ptaków i wilgotności ściółki, a nasila występowanie FPD