Effect of maternal dietary manipulation and in ovo injection of nutrients on the hatchability indices, post-hatch growth, feed consumption, feed conversion ratio and immunocompetence traits of turkey poults

• Main Authors: Amitav Bhattacharyya, Samir Majumdar, Subrat Kumar Bhanja, Asit Baran Mandal, Mukund Kadam
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2018-01-01
• Series: Journal of Applied Animal Research
• Subjects: Diet; in ovo feeding; poults; hatchability; immunity; turkeys
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09712119.2017.1296843
• ISSN: 0971-2119; 0974-1844

Two hundred turkey breeder hens and 24 viable toms of 30-35 weeks (wk) old of small white variety were distributed into 2 treatment groups having 4 replicates First four replicates were offered diet A [National Research Council. 1994. Nutrient requirements of poultry. 8th ed. Washington, DC: National Academy Press] and other four replicates were maintained on a higher plane of nutrition – diet B for 8 wk. Five hundred and fortyeight fertile eggs on 21st embryonic day were in ovo injected with nutrients (essential amino acids - INA; linolenic acid, linoleic acid, retinol and DL-alpha-tocopherol-INFV; INA + INFV-INAFV, sham control – S and un-injected control – C). INAFV poults had significantly (P < .01) higher body weight compared to other treatment groups till 8 wk of age. Total immunoglobulins in response to 1% sheep red blood cells were significantly higher (P < .01) in the INA group compared to the C group. Cell-mediated immune response was significantly higher (P < .01) in the diet B group compared to diet A group. Thus, INAFV treatment may be carried out for better posthatch growth and breeders may be maintained on higher plane of nutrition along with INA treatment to elicit better post-hatch immunity.