Elsevier

Poultry Science

Volume 94, Issue 6, 1 June 2015, Pages 1105-1114
Poultry Science

Animal Well-Being and Behavior
Cloacal and surface temperatures of tom turkeys exposed to different rearing temperature regimes during the first 12 weeks of growth

https://doi.org/10.3382/ps/peu058Get rights and content
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open access

Abstract

Years of genetic selection have caused an increase in growth rate and market body mass in agricultural poultry species compared to earlier genetic strains, potentially altering their physiological requirements. The objective of this study was to expose Hybrid Converter tom turkeys on a weekly basis to the recommended rearing temperature regime (TCON: control) or 4°C below the recommended standard (TTRT: treatment) to determine their thermal responses. Once per week for 12 weeks, 12 turkeys were individually exposed to either TCON or TTRT for a 2-h period. Surface temperatures of the breast (TBREAST), wing (TWING), drumstick (TDRUM), head (THEAD), and shank (TSHANK) were measured at 20-min intervals using an infrared camera, while a thermal data logger measured the skin surface temperature under the wing (TLOGGER) at 30-s intervals. The cloacal temperature (TCORE) was measured using a medical thermometer at the start and end of the exposure period. Regardless of exposure temperature, the TBREAST (TCON: P < 0.001 and TTRT: P < 0.001), TWING (TCON: P < 0.001 and TTRT: P < 0.001), and TDRUM (TCON: P < 0.001 and TTRT: P < 0.001) decreased from weeks 4 to 6 and remained constant from weeks 1 to 3 and 8 to 12. THEAD was elevated in week 2 (TCON: P < 0.001) or week 3 (TTRT: P < 0.001), TSHANK increased slightly during week 3 for both TCON (P < 0.001) and TTRT (P < 0.001), and TLOGGER (TCON: P < 0.001 and TTRT: P = 0.001) and TCORE (TCON: P < 0.001 and TTRT: P < 0.001) were lower during the first week. Thereafter, THEAD, TSHANK, TLOGGER, and TCORE remained constant. Exposure to TTRT resulted in lower TBREAST, TWING, and TDRUM compared to TCON. Generally, THEAD, TSHANK, TLOGGER, and TCORE were not affected by the different exposure temperatures. The data demonstrated that the degree of thermal response expressed is dependent on the location of measurement, age, and exposure temperature.

Key words

turkey
thermoregulation
early life
temperature change
body temperature

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