Reproductive Performance of Force-Molted Turkey Breeder Hens

THE relatively short reproductive cycle of the domestic turkey makes it an economic necessity to devise techniques that would effectively enhance its reproductive potential. Accordingly, Albright and Thompson (1933) and Marsden (1936) showed that turkeys could be stimulated into egg production through the use of artificial lights. Since that time, considerable research has been directed toward the development of light management techniques for improving reproductive fitness in the turkey. Harper and Parker (1957) demonstrated that hens in egg production will generally cease production when subjected to photoperiods of short duration. Yearling hens restricted to 9 hours of light per day for 4 weeks and subsequently exposed to 17 hours of light per day, did not produce eggs at a satisfactory rate. More recently, interest has centered on the feasibility of forcemolting turkeys to obtain a second season of egg production (Moyer et al., 1966; Van Krey et al., 1967). The…