Influence of feed form and corn particle size on the live performance and digestive tract development of turkeys

An experiment was conducted to investigate the influence of feed form and corn particle size on the performance, uniformity, intestinal pH, and allometry of gastrointestinal organs of turkeys. A completely randomized experimental design in a 2 x 3 factorial arrangement-2 feed forms (crumbled and micropelleted) and 3 corn particle sizes (380, 606, and 806 mu m)-was applied. The micropellets were 1.8 mm in diameter, and the crumbled diet was obtained after crushing 4-mm-diameter pellets in a roller mill. For the first 7 d, turkeys fed the micropelleted diet presented lower feed intake than those fed the crumbled diet, which induced lower gizzard and small intestine relative weights. However, 14- to 21-d-old birds fed the micropelleted diets showed increased feed intake and BW gain and improved FCR. The effects of corn particle size were independent of feed form. Turkeys fed diets with a 606-mu m corn particle size had increased feed intake and BW gain. Relative gizzard weight increased with increasing corn particle size, and bird uniformity was worse when turkeys were fed small corn particles. We concluded that typical crumble feeding is adequate up to 14 d of age, after which micropellets present advantages in the live performance of turkeys up to 21 d of age.