RESEARCH ▶▶▶
Functional oils as alternative growth promoters in turkeys
With relatively high use of antibiotic growth promoters, turkey production is in the cross hairs. Research looks into the effects of functional oils on the growth, carcass and meat characteristics, and intestinal morphology of commercial turkey toms and concludes they may offer a viable alternative to antibiotics.
BY P.R. FERKET, R.D. MALHEIROS, V.M.B. MORAES, A.A. AYOOLA, I. BARASCH, O.T. TOOMER AND J. TORRENT, POULTRY SCIENCE
F
or decades it has been common practice within the poultry industry to use subtherapeutic doses of anti- biotics to improve production performance and re- duce pathogenic microbial challenges. Under current
production conditions, turkeys have traditionally also been protected from pathogenic microorganisms by vaccination and antibiotics. However, due to growing problems with anti- biotic resistance – and under increasing pressure from the general public – authorities have set regulations which pro- hibit the use of growth promoters or antibiotics in the animal production industry, including for turkeys. It is therefore vital to find alternative production practices and antibiotic sub- stitutes to control pathogenic microorganisms in turkey production systems.
Beyond nutritional value Extracted oils are defined as ‘functional oils’ because of their action beyond their nutritional value and status as neither spices nor essences. A commercial product containing ex- tracted cashew nut shell liquid and castor oil has previously been shown to successfully protect broiler chickens against coccidiosis challenges and to improve broiler performance. Cashew nut shell liquid has active components which are alkylphenols. These posess antioxidant, molluscicidal, antitu- mor and antimicrobial properties. Some inhibit certain en- zymes and are known to improve meat quality or freshness. Castor oil is a triglyceride in which 90% of the fatty acid chains are ricinoleic acid. It further has anti-inflammatory properties
42 ▶ POULTRY WORLD | No. 8, 2020
and acts against some fungi and gram-positive bacteria. Broil- ers whose diets were supplemented with these mixtures showed a significantly greater body weight gain at slaughter (six weeks) than the controls. Additional effects were demon- strated when these functional oil mixtures were administered under heat stress conditions, in which breast meat yields were not reduced compared to controls without supplementation.
No previous studies No studies are known which examined the effects of function- al oils as an alternative feed additive for commercial turkey toms on growth performance, meat characteristics and intes- tinal morphology. To study the effects, 585 hatchlings were randomly placed in 15 replicate floor pens (13 poults/pen) with recycled litter and feed and water provided ad libitum. Birds were randomly assigned to three dietary treatments from 1 to 12 weeks: non-medicated control, 0.15% functional oils and 66 ppm monensin. From week 13 to 20: each initial treatment group was further subdivided into three treat- ments – control (no additive), 0.15% of functional oils or 20 ppm of virginiamycin, to produce nine different treat- ments, with five replicate pens per treatment. Data on feed weights were collected weekly, and body weight bi-weekly. At termination (20 weeks) birds were euthanized and their meat was processed to determine the mass of carcass sections and meat quality, while intestinal samples were collected for his- tology. At 12 weeks of age toms fed functional oils or monen- sin were heavier than the controls by 4.5% and 10.5%, respec- tively. Birds fed monensin showed a 4% improvement in feed conversion compared to the other treatments. Neither the functional oils nor virginiamycin affected bird performance when fed from 13 to 20 weeks. The jejunum villi surface area at three weeks was most enhanced for the poults fed monen- sin. Supplementation with functional oils significantly re- duced leg yield and thiobarbituric-acid-reactive substances of white meat after 7 days of storage. The results indicate that functional oils in the diet of turkey toms may offer a viable al- ternative to antibiotic growth promotants, although more re- search is needed.
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