A note on the effect of charcoal supplementation on the performance of Big 6 heavy tom turkeys

Abstract

The experiment was conducted on 204 Big 6 heavy tom turkeys. One-day-old chickens were allocated to two feeding groups, each with three replicates of 34 birds. All of the birds were fed identical granulated standard feeds in a three-stage system. The control birds were fed unsupplemented feed, the birds in the treatment group received a feed supplemented with pulverized hardwood charcoal at a dose of 3 kg/ton. Charcoal was given from day one of life for the entire period of rearing. The use of charcoal had a beneficial effect on performance. After 18 weeks of rearing, turkeys given charcoal-supplemented feed were 5.9% heavier (on average 870 g) and had a 6.5% better feed conversion ratio than the control birds. Survival in the group receiving charcoal was 99% as compared with 87.3% in the control group. The crude protein content of the breast muscles of the experimental group increased significantly. The European Production Index equaled 393 for the control group and 504 for the charcoal-supplemented group.