Effect of Cage and Floor Rearing; Dietary Calcium, Phosphorus, Fluoride, and Energy Levels; and Temperature on Growing Turkey Performance, the Incidence of Broken Bones and Bone Weight, and Ash

Performance of female large type turkeys was compared in cages of two sizes and in floor pens. Tests were conducted over the period from 8 or 9 through 18 weeks of age. The smaller cages had two birds per cage and the larger 12, both with .14 m2 floor space per bird. Turkeys raised in the smaller cages had smaller metatarsi with less bone ash and showed a higher incidence of broken bones when slaughtered than those raised in floor pens. Those raised in the larger cages had intermediate weights of metatarsi and bone ash and a low incidence of broken bones. Increasing the calcium level of the diet from .82 to 1.00% had no significant effect on the incidence of broken bones. Addition of 50 ppm of fluoride to the diet increased bone ash but did not decrease the incidence of broken bones. Addition of animal fat to the diet increased weight gain and the incidence of broken bones. Increasing diet phosphorus level from .62 to .71% did not affect weight gain or gain/feed ratio, increased bone ash, and decreased broken bone incidence slightly. Increasing the cage size was the only treatment tested that resulted in near elimination of broken bones in caged turkeys. The small cages were located in two rooms with temperature control. The temperature was controlled at 13 and 23 C in one test, at 16 and 26 C in six tests, and at 19 and 29 C in one test. Weight gain was higher at the cooler temperature in all tests. Gain/feed ratio tended to be higher at the warmer temperature with the two lower temperature pairs tested. Weight gain and gain/feed ratio of the female turkeys in cages was of the same order as noted in commercial production in sheds.