Comparison of diets containing different protein sources for growing turkeys
Abstract
Diets for growing turkeys up to about 6 weeks of age usually contain animal protein sources. As a result of the BSE-crisis, meat (and bone) meal has been excluded from diets for all livestock species. Field reports claim that this has led to reduced growth and smaller muscle portions and to an increased incidence of skeletal disorders and other health related problems such as sticky droppings. In Austria, fish meal and certain milk by-products, and increased levels of soybean meal and synthetic amino acids are used to meet the animals' requirements in the absence of meat (and bone) meal. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to address some of the problems stated above. 60 male day-old turkey chicks were divided into 4 groups of 15 birds each, placed into litter pens and fed one of four diets for 8 weeks. Up to week 3 (phase 1), diets contained 12.0 MJ ME, 1.7 % lysine and 1.0 % methionine + cysteine. From weeks 4 to 6 (phase 2) the respective values were 12.3 MJ, 1.5 % and 0.9 %. All diets consisted of about 40 % maize, 10 % wheat, a varying percentage of rapeseed oil and different protein sources: the diets of group 1 contained 5 % (phase 1) and 3 % (phase 2) fishmeal, group 2 received diets containing 3 % (phase 1) and 1.5 % (phase 2) fishmeal plus 4 % (phase 1) and 2 % (phase 2) of a mixture of cheese scraps and wheat gluten. Diets of groups 3 and 4 contained no animal protein, but 0.006 % carnitine were added to the diets of group 4 (phases 1 and 2). In weeks 7 and 8 (phase 3) all groups received an identical diet without animal protein sources containing 12.6 MJ ME, 1.4 % lysine and 0.9 % methionine + cysteine. For all treatments, varying percentages of soybean meal and synthetic amino acids were added in order to meet the amino acid levels stated above. Turkeys were weighed weekly. In week 5, 6 birds per treatment were individually placed into cages for determination of apparent fecal digestibility of Ca and P and were euthanized after 10 days to determine apparent ileal digestibility of amino acids. Tibiae from the euthanized turkeys were removed and were x-rayed for estimation of bone mineralization. Blood samples were collected and analyzed for selected physiological parameters. Mobility of the birds and consistency of the droppings were evaluated twice by subjective grading. At the end of the experiment, the remaining birds (9 per treatment) were slaughtered and breast muscle percentage was determined.
turkey amino acids fish meal milk protein soybean meal growth bone
Publikationen
Project staff
Werner Zollitsch
Univ.Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.nat.techn. Werner Zollitsch
werner.zollitsch@boku.ac.at
Tel: +43 1 47654-93211, 99101, 99111
Project Leader
01.09.2001 - 01.05.2002
Wilhelm Friedrich Knaus
Ao.Univ.Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.nat.techn. Wilhelm Friedrich Knaus
wilhelm.knaus@boku.ac.at
Tel: +43 1 47654-93235
Project Staff
01.09.2001 - 01.05.2002
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External partners
Institute of Nutrition
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