Effects of dietary Aspergillus meal prebiotic on turkey poults production parameters and bone qualities

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of 0.2% dietary Aspergillus Meal (AM) on performance and bone parameters of neonatal turkey poults. A total of 200 day-of-hatch turkey poults were used for this experiment. Two dietary treatments, similar in energy and protein content differing only by the addition of 0.2% AM, were used. Poults were divided into 2 treatment groups with 25 birds per treatment and four replicates each. Group 1 received a basal non medicated control diet and group 2 received dietary AM. At the end of 30 d, poults were weighed, euthanized, and tibias were collected to evaluate bone quality using an Instron shear press machine and bone parameters such as tibia weight, diameter, ash, calcium and phosphorus assays. Samples of distal ileum were collected and the content subjected to protein and energy analysis. Poults fed with dietary AM had a significant improvement in BW and feed conversion ratios (p<0.05). Distal ileum content showed significantly less concentration of energy and protein when compared with the poults receiving control diet. Tibia weight, diameter, breaking strength, ash, calcium and phosphorus were significantly higher in poults that received dietary AM prebiotic. These results suggest that the increase in performance and bone parameters in neonatal turkey poults fed with 0.2% AM, is improved upon feeding Aspergillus niger mycelium prebiotic. © Asian Network for Scientific Information, 2011.