The effects of floor space and beak trimming on behavior and growth of Large White male turkeys were investigated Floor space allowances were 6.5, 9.3, and 12.1 dm2/bird at 0 to 8 weeks; 11.7, 16.7, and 21.8 dm3/bird at 8 to 12 weeks; and 28, 35, and 42 dm3/bird at 12 to 20 weeks. Floor space was adjusted by changing the pen size while maintaining a constant number of birds per pen. Body weight, feed intake, feed efficiency, feather score, live market quality, and mortality were measured. In addition, agonistic behavior including "threat avoids", "peck avoids", "threat chases", "peck chases" and "fights", and nonagonistic behavior including feather "pecks" and "pecks and pulls" were determined at 12 and 20 weeks of age. Floor space had no significant effect on any parameter measured through 8 weeks. At 12 weeks, feed efficiency and body weight were significantly decreased with decreasing floor space. By 20 weeks, the body weight of the birds grown at the intermediate floor space allowance from 8 to 12 weeks was no longer significantly different from those grown at the highest floor space allowance; however, the birds grown at the highest density from 8 to 12 weeks remained significantly lighter at 20 weeks. Compensatory growth, if present, appeared limited. Beak trimming had no significant effect on body weight or feed efficiency. Food intake was significantly greater in the beak trimmed birds from 12 to 18, but there was no significant difference from 12 to 20 weeks. From 12 to 20 weeks, mortality was significantly less in beak-trimmed birds.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

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The effects of floor space allowance and beak trimming on behavior and growth performance of female Large White turkeys were studied. Floor space allowances were 5.6, 7.0, and 9.3 dm2/bird from 0 to 8 weeks of age and 14.0, 18.6, and 23.2 dm2/bird from 8 to 16 weeks of age. Floor space was adjusted by changing pen size to assure a constant number of birds per pen. Results showed that neither floor space allowance nor beak trimming had any significant effect of any of the variables under study through 8 weeks of age. At 16 weeks of age, growth, feed consumption, feed efficiency, feather scores, live market quality grades, and mortality were still unaffected. Beak trimming significantly reduced body weight gain, body weight, and feed consumption but had no significant effect on feed efficiency, feather scores, or mortality. Agonistic (aggressive) behavior was very low in this population of females. Of significance, however, were the nonaggressive behaviors of social "pecking" and "pecking and pulling" of feathers. Feather-pecking activity was unaffected by previous or subsequent floor space allowances through 16 weeks of age; however, the incidence of pecking and pulling of feathers was highest among females previously assigned the largest floor space allowance (9.3 dm2/bird) in the brooder house and subsequently allowed the smallest floor space allowance (14.0 dm2/bird) in the grower house. Beak trimming significantly increased the frequency of both "pecking" and "pecking and pulling" of feathers over that of their untrimmed contemporaries when the females were 12 and 16 weeks of age. Possible reasons for this are discussed.

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The study presented was designed to determine the effects of laying cages and conventional litter floors, pen temperatures of 12.8 degrees, 21.1 degrees and 29.4 degrees C., and chelated (EDTA-Zn) vs. nonchelated trace mineral mixes on the reproductive performance of yearling force-molted and young Large White female turkeys. Reproductive performance, as measured by egg production, settable eggs, fertility and hatchability of fertile eggs, was not significantly different between young and yearling hens. Females fed a chelated trace mineral mix had a higher percentage of settable eggs, greater feed consumption and thicker egg shells. Females in laying cages laid at a higher rate, ate more feed, and weighed more than those on conventional floors. Significant differences were not observed between the two pen environments for hatchability of fertile eggs or egg weight. The percentages of settable eggs and of fertile eggs were lower when females were maintained in cages. A constant temperature of 29.4 degrees C. reduced egg production below that obtained from females maintained at 12.8 degrees and 21.1 degrees C. The high pen temperature also caused lower body and egg weights, more birds out of production and an increased incidence of molting. Feed consumption decreased with increasing pen temperatures. Fertility, hatchability, percentage of settable eggs and egg shell thickness were unaffected by the imposed temperature environments. Temperatures of 12.8 degrees and 21.1 degrees C. yielded comparable results for all reproductive parameters measured. Within the range of temperatures studied, results obtained suggest that optimum reproductive performance can be obtained with breeder turkeys when environmental temperatures are maintained between 12.8 degrees and 21.1 degrees C.