Effects of two feed forms on the growth performance, carcass yield and duodenal villus morphology of locally-adapted turkeys

This study was conducted to determine the performance, carcass yield and duodenal villusmorphology of locally-adapted turkeys on feed forms (mash and pellet) of the same nutrient contents. A total of 120 day-old turkey poults were used for the experiment. The poults were brooded for 3 weeks using kerosene stove as source of heat. They were thereafter divided into two treatment groups of 60 poults each with 3 replicates of 20 birds per replicate. They were managed intensively on litter-covered floor for 8 weeks. Data on performance characteristics were collected and at the end of the experiment two birds of average weight for each replicate were selected and starved overnight to clear the guts and thereafter sacrificed for evaluation of the carcass yield. The duodenal villus morphology of a part of the small intestine was also determined. Data were subjected to studentized t-test at 5% level of significance. Poults on pelleted feed form had significantly (P<0.05) better feed conversion ratio (3.45) than birds on mash (4.23). However, a significantly (P<0.05) higher cost of feed intake per poult per day (N13.96) was obtained in birds fed pelletized form of feed compared to N8.30 obtained in poults on mash feed form. The drumstick was also significantly (P<0.05) influenced by the forms of feed with poults on mash feed having a greater value. The results showed that poults on mash had significantly (P<0.05) higher villus height (1.00μm) than poults fed pellet (0.60μm). This implies that mash diet enhanced the duodenal villus morphological development in locally-adapted turkeys relative to mash diet. It was thereby concluded that for better nutrient utilization, pelletized feed should be adopted for locally-adapted turkey production but its use could be limited by higher cost compared to mash diet. However, it might in the long run yield sufficiently better gain than obtainable in the mash feed form.Keywords: Mash, pellet, growth performance, carcass yield, villus, duodenum, cost benefi