Effect of protein sources on performance characteristics of turkeys in the first three wk of life

Abstract The effect of nutrition during the early life of turkey poults has a long-lasting impact on bird performance. This study assessed the digestibility of 5 high protein feed ingredients (soybean meal [SBM], corn gluten meal [CGM], canola protein concentrate [CPC], fish meal [FM], and porcine meal [PCM]) in broiler chickens, as well as their use in turkey pre-starter diets fed to 21 d of age. The first experiment (5 × 2 factorial arrangement) determined nitrogen corrected apparent metabolizable energy (AMEn) and apparent ileal amino acid digestibility (AIAAD) of each ingredient in broiler chickens at 5 and 21 d of age, using 6 replications of 30 and 8 chicks, respectively. In the second experiment (completely randomized design), 4 replication pens, containing 23 d-old poults, were randomly assigned to one of 5 dietary treatments. The diets were formulated based on the AMEn and AIAAD values derived in the first experiment, and consisted of a high SBM control diet, and 4 additional diets with either CPC, FM, PCM or CGM replacing 25% of the protein supplied by SBM in the control diet. Statistical analysis was completed using Proc Mixed in SAS 9.3. Planned contrasts were used to compare treatments in the second experiment. Trends were identified at P