The Effect of Cereal Grain and Energy Level of the Diet on the Response of Turkey Poults to Enzyme and Antibiotic Supplements

THE differences in growth response to antibiotics reported by different investigators have been attributed to several factors, among which are “old” and “new” environment (Coates et al., 1951; Gordon, 1952), continued use and induced resistance (McGinnis et al., 1958; Nelson et al., 1963), as well as a reduced germ load or diseased potential with continued use of an antibiotic (Libby and Schaible, 1955; Waibel et al., 1954). Growth responses attributed to enzyme supplementation also may vary due to several causes. Fry et al. (1958b) found that the type of cereal grain influences the degree of response by turkey poults, while Willingham et al. (1960), using samples of barley grown in different geographical areas, showed that the geographical source of the grain may also influence the response. The results presented in this paper show that the growth response of turkey poults to antibiotic and/or enzyme supplements may also be influenced by…