Effects of Mannan-oligosaccharides and Live Yeast in Diets on the Carcass, Cut Yields, Meat Composition and Colour of Finishing Turkeys

This study was designed to evaluate the effects of dietary prebiotic (mannan oligosaccharide = MOS) and probiotic (Saccharomyces cerevisiae = SC) in finishing turkey diets on carcass, cut yield, meat composition and colour. A total of 72 ten-weeks-old Big6 male turkey poults were used in the trial. There were eight replicate floor pens per floor with three birds in each. The experiment lasted up to 20 wks of age. The trial was set up as a completely randomized design with 3 dietary treatments. The treatments were: i) negative control (C, no additive); ii) MOS 1 g per kg of diet and iii) SC 1 g per kg of diet (strain SC47, 300x10(10) CFU/kg). Body weight (BW) and feed intake were determined for each of the two week intervals. Twenty-four birds were slaughtered and eviscerated to determine carcass, carcass parts and internal organ weights at 20 wks of age. Meat colour and pH levels were measured 24 h after slaughter. The dietary treatments did not affect BW and average daily gain during the trial (p>0.05). The average daily feed intake and feed conversion ratio of turkey toms fed with MOS were higher than those of control and SC groups during the overall period (p<0.05). The dietary treatments did not affect carcass yield, breast meat, thigh, wing, liver, heart, empty gizzard, intestine, and abdominal fat pad proportions and meat pH, composition and pigmentation (p>0.05). These results suggest that the addition of MOS and SC is not likely to produce any performance or carcass characteristics in finishing turkeys at 10 to 20 wks of age.