Influence of Wet Litter and Supplemental Biotin on Foot Pad Dermatitis in Turkey Poults

Two experiments were conducted with day-old Broad Breasted white turkey male poults to determine whether wet litter and supplemental biotin would influence the severity of foot pad dermatitis. Poults grown on wet litter had a significantly increased incidence of foot pad dermatitis. The addition of biotin to the corn-soy diet resulted in a decreased severity of foot pad dermatitis in poults maintained on dry litter; however, it did not influence the severity of the lesions when poults were maintained on wet litter. Histological examination of the foot pad tissue indicated that poults which received the control diet were deficient in biotin.