Effects of carbon dioxide on turkey poult performance and behavior

Abstract

Appropriate ventilation of poultry facilities is critical for achieving optimum performance. Ventilation promotes good air exchange to remove harmful gases, excessive heat, moisture, and particulate matter. In a turkey brooder barn, carbon dioxide (CO2) may be present at higher levels during the winter due to reduced ventilation rates to maintain high temperatures. This higher CO2 may negatively affect turkey poult performance. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of subjecting tom turkey poults (commercial Large White Hybrid Converters) to different constant levels of atmospheric CO2 on their growth performance and behavior. In three consecutive replicate trials, a total of 552 poults were weighed post-hatch and randomly placed in 3 environmental control chambers, with 60 (Trial 1) and 62 (Trials 2 and 3) poults housed per chamber. They were reared with standard temperature and humidity levels for 3 wks. The poults were exposed to 3 different fixed CO2 concentrations of 2,000, 4,000, and 6,000 ppm throughout each trial. Following each trial (replicate), the CO2 treatments were switched and assigned to a different chamber in order to expose each treatment to each chamber. At the end of each trial, all poults were sent to a local turkey producer to finish growout. For each trial, individual body weight and group feed intake were measured, and mortality and behavioral movement were recorded. Wk 3 and cumulative body weight gain of poults housed at 2,000 ppm CO2 was greater (P < 0.05) than those exposed to 4,000 and 6,000 ppm CO2. Feed intake and feed conversion were unaffected by the different CO2 concentrations. No significant difference in poult mortality was found between treatments. In addition, no effect of CO2 treatments was evident in the incidence of spontaneous turkey cardiomyopathy for turkeys processed at 19 wk of age. Poults housed at the lower CO2 level (2,000 ppm) demonstrated reduced movement compared with those exposed to the 2 higher CO2 concentrations.

Impact of Heating Systems on Air and Litter Quality in Broiler Houses, Performance, Behavior, and Immunity in Broiler Chickens

“…Applying a gas-operated torch in the current study revealed significant increases in the microclimatic carbon dioxide concentrations that adversely affect performance, behavior, carcass yield, immunoglobulin concentration, and bacterial counts and prevalence. The results were consistent with those reported by Weis and Leip, (2012) and Cândido et al (2018) who found that using direct heating methods contributed to a significant increase in carbon dioxide concentration and moisture percentages that negatively influence the performance and behavior of broilers. Also, Rajaniemi and Ahokas, (2015) estimated approximately 0: 631 kg CO 2 .1000 -1 of carcass weight emitted in broiler farms from direct heating using fossil fuel.…”

Air temperature, carbon dioxide, and ammonia assessment inside a commercial cage layer barn with manure-drying tunnels

“…Common sources of CO 2 are bird respiration, byproducts of feces breakdown, floor litter buildup in some facilities, and use of unvented conventional propane/natural gas-fueled heaters ( Jeppsson, 2000 , Miles et al., 2006a , Cândido et al., 2018 ). Interior CO 2 levels are important factors for ventilation management in poultry houses and are commonly used to design appropriate minimum winter ventilation rates for maintaining indoor air quality and controlling moisture ( Albright, 1990 , Barber et al., 1993 , Liang et al., 2005 , Xin et al., 2009 , Ni et al., 2017 , Cândido et al., 2018 , ASHRAE, 2019 ). The International Commission of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering ( CIGR, 1984 ) established the maximum CO 2 concentration inside a facility at 3,000 ppm for general production and 2,500 ppm for poultry production.…”

Evaluation of Welfare in Commercial Turkey Flocks of Both Sexes Using the Transect Walk Method

“…Excessive NH 3 and CO 2 levels may also have negative impact on birds’ health and metabolism in young turkeys [ 14 , 28 ]. It was shown that young poults exposed to 4000 ppm CO 2 had suppressed body weight gain compared to those exposed to 2000 ppm [ 14 ]; in addition, NH 3 levels greater than 10 ppm can also reduce feed intake with effects on body weight [ 28 ]. In our study, higher NH 3 (40 ppm and 27.6 ppm) and CO 2 (4433 ppm and 3000 ppm) values were detected in two facilities.…”

“…NH 3 in high concentrations can have severe adverse health effects, causing lesions of the upper respiratory tract and inflammation of the cornea and conjunctive [ 15 , 48 ]. High concentration of CO 2 can be harmful to turkeys due to hypoxia [ 14 ], which may lead to dilatated cardiomyopathy [ 49 ]. Although no precise concentration limits have been established for turkeys, Directive 98/58/EC [ 50 ] requires that gas concentrations in turkey facilities be kept within safe limits.…”

“…The transect walk can be used at different ages in turkeys, provides relevant information on animal welfare during the rearing period, and allows farmers to make changes and improve welfare for current flocks [ 11 ]. The health and welfare of commercially farmed turkeys supposed to be attributed to the high growth potential of the commonly used commercial hybrids [ 12 , 13 ], and also depend on environmental factors such as air quality [ 14 , 15 ], ambient temperature [ 16 , 17 ], light intensity and duration of day length [ 18 , 19 ], and stocking density [ 2 , 20 ]. All these factors, if not within the recommended limits, can cause significant physical distress to the animals [ 16 , 17 ] and consequently have a negative impact on animal performance [ 2 , 20 ], and post-slaughter product quality [ 21 , 22 , 23 ].…”