The Effect of Early Protein Restriction (Zero to Eight Weeks) on Skeletal Development in Turkey Toms from Two to Eighteen Weeks

Turkey toms were fed protein- and lysine-deficient diets or protein- and lysine-adequate diets from 0 to 4 and 5 to 8 wk and similar diets from 9 to 18 wk. Beginning at 2 wk of age and at approximate 2-wk intervals thereafter, the length and width of the right tibia were measured in nine toms per treatment. The length and width of the femur were measured beginning at 8 wk. Three tibiae that were close to the average length for each age and treatment were selected for ashing. The top 25% (epiphyseal) and middle 10% (diaphyseal) segments from each of these bones were fat-extracted prior to ashing. Mean length of the tibia continued to increase throughout the experiment whereas tibia width reached a plateau at 16 wk. Femur length also continued to increase throughout the study whereas there were no significant changes in femur width after 16 wk. Compared with the control diet, the diet deficient in protein and lysine resulted in a significant decrease in tibia and femur width at all ages. There were no dietary effects on tibia length at 16 and 18 wk, however. There were no significant dietary effects on femur length after 14 wk. There were significant age effects but no significant dietary effects on epiphyseal or diaphyseal bone ash. Epiphyseal bone ash increased from 41 to 54% over the course of the study whereas diaphyseal bone ash increased only from 59 to 64%.