Roczniki Naukowe Polskiego Towarzystwa Zootechnicznego, t. 6 (2010), nr l

Effect of dietary copper chelateand herbal mixture on slaughterturkey performance

Małgorzata Dmoch, Antoni Polonis

University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Chair of Animai and Environment Hygiene,Akademicka 13,20-217 Lublin

Copper chelates and herbal mixtures are common feed additives used in pouItry diets. Theobjective of the present research was to assess turkey breeding parameters after drinkingwat er supplementation with copper chelate and herbal mixture addition to birds' diet. Thestudies involved 160 turkeys assigned into the control group and three experimental ones,which received copper at two doses (30 mg CuJIH20 and 50 CuJI H20) and 1% herbal mixturefeed additive. The production parameters of the control turkeys were compa red to those fromthe experimental groups. As an increased copper eontent improved weight gains and feedconversion rate to a lesser degree than a lower Cu content, smaIler copper doses are recom-mended. The dietary supplements applied did not improve dressing percentage of birds,

KEY WORDS: turkey / copper chelate / herbal mixture / body weight / feed intake /dressing percentage

Copper is an element found in bird tissues in trace arnounts, yet it płays a vital rolein poułtry and has been used as a feed suppJement for years. Adequate copper suppJiesare criticał for apprapriate deveJapment and heaJth status of arganism. Although thecopper nutrient requirement in poultry is law, it is 4 mg/kg feed according to the NRC[13], higher Cu supplementatian levels are recammended due to very high growth rateof birds and law dietary copper utilizatian (20%) caused by its intensive excretian viabile. The Paułtry Feeding Narms (PFN) [14] state that nutritive requirements of turkeysfor copper, subject to a breeding stage, are 15-25 mg/kg feed. Therefore, to correctcap per deficiency maintaining a pro per minerał ratia between ather interactive minerałs(especially Zn and Mn), Cu must be provided in a highly avaiJable form of copperpreparations, added to drinking water. As cap per preparatians show mechanisms ofantibacteriał actian, łike antibiotics, may be impJemented as safer substitute for antibia-tics. Impartantly, apprapriate feeding strategy of turkeys shauld include feed additives.Practically, the most common supplementing cambinatians are thase of copper, zinc,

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manganese, iron, selenium with amino acid (methionine, lysine), partially hydrolyzedprotein (albuminates) and carbohydrates [16).

Feeding herbal mixtures to farm animals at rearing period is a pre-condition forgood animal health. Herbal mixtures have specific pharmacological properties andincluded at right doses show minimal undesirable effects. They include biologicallyactive substances that have health benefits, are natural anti-stress remedy and tranquil-lizers, so applicable for prophylactic disease contro!. Besides, they boost the immune,gastro-intestinal, nervous and respiratory system. Herbal mixtures are known to improveboth, animal performance and sensory qualities of meat. A pro-ecologic role of herbsin poultry raising is also worth mentioning, as they bind mycotoxins and reduce ammo-nia formation, which is beneficia! to the environment [6).

The research purpose was to determine the effect of copper in the form of copperchelates as drinking water supplement as well as herb al mixture feed additive on thebreeding parameters of slaughter turkeys.

Materiał and methods

The studies were conducted on turkeys of heavy type Big-6, Broad Breasted Whitebreed. The research materia! comprised atotal of 160 turkey cocks assigned to fourtreatment groups, 40 birds each. Ali the birds were maintained under the same feedingand drinking patterns. Feedstuffs and water were supplemented by feed additives. Theraising period !asted unti! 17 week of age. A design of the experiment is presented inTab!e l.

Copper was administered as copper-Iysine comp!ex which is a more bioavailableform of supplementa! Cu, as compared to inorganic combinations [I). In the studies,two copper doses were applied: 30 mg Cull H20 and 50 mg Cu/! H20. A higher copper

Table 1 - Tabela 1Design of the experimentUkład doświadczenia

Control group

Grupa kontrolna

Experimental groups

Grupy doświadczalne

II 1lI IV

Standard full-ratlondiet and water adlibitumStandardowe mieszankipełnoporcjowe iwoda ad libitum

Standard full-rationdiet and water adlibitum + 30 mg CullH20 chelate additiveto drinking waterStandardowe mieszankipełnoporcjowe i wodaad libitum + dodatek30 mg Cull H20 pitnejw postaci chelatu

Standard full-rationdiet and water adlibitum + 1% herbalmix feed additiveStandardowe mieszankipełnoporcjowe i wodaad libitum + dodatekI % mieszanki ziołowejdo paszy

Standard full-rattondiet and water adlibitum + 50 mg CullH20 chelate additiveto drinking waterStandardowe mieszankipełnoporcjowe i wodaad libitum + dodatek50 mg Cull H20 pitnejw postaci chelatu

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level did not pose a bird health risk as according to the PFN [15], birds have very hightolerance for copper exces s and only 15-fold higher Cu concentration in feed proves tobe toxic to bird organism.

Herbal mixture was formulated from the following dried herbs: AchilLea herb -10%, Calendula officinalis inflorescence - 10%, Crataegus fruit - 20%, ground garlic- 10%, Equisetum herb - 10%, Urtica leaf - 20%, Oenothera seed - 20% and Melissaherb - 10%. The formulated herb mix was supplied at dose 1% of feed. The herb mixturewas evałuated for minerał contents using atomie absorption spectrophotometry method(AAS).

Throughout the research time, the birds had free access to water and were fed fuliration diets. Diet composition (Tab. 2) was dependent on ani maI growth rate rełated tobird age. There was applied CargilI commerciał feed. In feed as well as in herbał mixsupplied, there were determined minerał contents and the resułts summarized in Tabłe3 and 4.

Table 2 - Tabela 2Nutritive value of basie rnixtures for turkeysZawartość podstawowych składników pokarmowych w mieszankach paszowych dla indyków

Specification Feed type - Rodzaj paszy

Wyszczególnienie Turkey l Turkey 2 Turkey 3 Turkey 4 Turkey 5 Turkey 6

Indyk l Indyk 2 Indyk 3 Indyk 4 Indyk 5 Indyk 6

Total protein (%) 27.50 25.50 23.00 20.00 18.50 17.00Białko ogólne (%)

Crude fibre (%) 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00Włókno surowe (%)

Crude fat (%) 7.00 6.02 5.70 7.10 9.20 9.60Tłuszcz surowy (%)

ME (kcal/kg) 2800 2870 3000 3170 3220 3280EM (kcal/kg)Phosphorus asimilable (%) 0.70 0.65 0.60 0.50 0.40 0.40Fosfor przyswajalny (%)

Arginine (%) 1.70 1.60 1.20 1.00 0.90 0.75Arginina (%)

Lysine (%) 1.70 1.60 1.20 1.00 0.90 0.75Lizyna (%)

Tryptophan (%) 0.32 0.23 0.18 0.15 0.14 0.13Tryptofan (%)

Methionine + cystine (%) 1.10 1.05 0.80 0.70 0.65 0.60Metionina + cystyna (%)

Choline (mg/kg) 2200 2000 1600 1100 1100 1100Cholina (mg/kg)Sodiurn (%) 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15Sód (%)

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--- -----------------,

Table 3 - Tabela 3Content of minerais in mixtures for turkeys (glkg)Zawartość składników mineralnych w mieszankach paszowych dla indyków (glkg)

Element Feed type - Rodzaj paszyPierwiastek Turkey I Turkey 2 Turkey 3 Turkey 4 Turkey 5 Turkey 6

Indyk l Indyk 2 Indyk 3 Indyk 4 Indyk 5 Indyk 6

Ca 5.6300 5.1750 4.6290 4.8000 4.74\0 4.5645

K 5.9615 6.3300 6.5600 4.8355 3.9405 4.2700

Mg 1.0605 1.0345 1.0635 1.0420 1.0390 1.0590

Fe 0.2161 0.2033 0.1714 0.1719 0.1213 0.1031

Mn 0.0106 0.0104 0.0109 0.0139 0.0106 0.0122

Zn 0.0680 0.0760 0.1125 0.1114 0.0879 0.0975

Cu 0.0130 0.0138 0.0187 0.0239 0.0221 0.0232

After the breeding period (17 weeks), al! the birds were slaughtered. Prior to that,the birds underwent the 12h-fasting period. Post-slaughter, randomly chosen birds (6from each group) we re dissected to assess the weight of breast, thigh and shank musc\esas well as dressing percentage by weighing organ s and tissues. .

The obtained numerical data were prepared using the spread sheet ofExceI program,Microsoft Windows software 2003. Then single-factor variance analysis and the Dun-can's test were performed in the SPSS 12.0PL statistical software. The followingsignificance levels were assumed: 0.01 and 0.05 (P~O.Ol and P~0.05).

Table 4 - Tabela 4Content of mineral in herbal mixtures for turkeys (mglI)Zawartość składników mineralnych w mieszance ziołowej (mglI)

ElementPierwiastek

Herbal mixtureMieszanka ziolowa

CaK

NaMgFeCuZnMn

204.446.73.50

65.961.610.224.341.33

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Results and discussion

Table 5 presents mean body weight of turkeys at each breeding week. In the firstweek of life, the weight of birds from each gro up was similar. In the third week offattening, the turkeys with 50 mg Cu/l l H20 copper chelate-supplemented diet (groupIV) were the lightest, whereas those from group I and II - the heaviest. This tendencymaintained for as long as 14 fattening week and was proven statisticaIly in most cases.In the 15 week of fattening, the turkeys from IV group appeared to be some heavierthan those from the other groups. Higher by ca 7% slaughter weight was attained bythe birds from group II fed supplemental copper-Iysine chelate at 30 mg CuJI H20 dose.The birds from the other groups showed lower weight. The recorded average finalweight, however, was slightly lower than that presented by Jankowski in the "Nutritio-nal recommendations and nutritive value of feed materials" [14].

Table 5 - Tabela 5Body weight of turkeys (kg)Masa ciała indyków (kg)

Age Group I Group Il Group 1II Group IV(weeks) Grupa I Grupa" Grupa '" Grupa IVWiek(tyg.) x SD x SD x SD x SD

l. 0.059 0.003 0.058 0.006 0.056 0.004 0.054 0.001

2. 0.15 0.029 0.15 0.015 0.14 0.015 0.13 0.018

3. 0.32 0.017 0.32' 0.025 0.28 0.050 0.27" 0.032

4. 0.608b 0.030 0.618b 0.035 0.53A" 0.057 0.49 0.053

5. 1.078 0.062 1.07B 0.061 0.98 0.127 0.87A 0.107

6. 1.58" 0.256 1.68"OCA 0.102 1.37,bd 0.112 1.35bB 0.167

7. 2.48A 0.205 2.31AC 0.197 1.93B 0.148 1.87B 0.239

8. 3.22 0.280 3.21 0.319 2.69 0.171 2.58 0.339

9. 4.15A 0.331 4.17AC 0.388 3.49B 0.214 3.37B 0.445

10. 5.30 0.447 5.27 0.550 4.32 0.226 4.79 1.594

11. 6.34" 0.510 6.39A 0.648 5.31bB 0.231 5.32bB 0.736

12. 7.58Bb 0.788 7.6ZBh 0.850 6.26' 0.311 6.16A 0.948

13. 8.80 0.860 8.62 1.155 6.95 0.Z66 6.73 1.192

14. 9.92A 0.495 9.95"AC 0.559 9.808c 0.564 9.06D 0.719

15. 11.Z6 0.462 11.56 0.749 11.19 1.086 1Z.35 0.888

16. 13.25 0.714 14.23 1.115 13.17 1.115 13.36 1.255

17. 14.23 0.691 15.20 1.1Z5 14.26 1.846 14.26 1.296

A, B - statistically significant differences at P:S;O.Q1- różnice istotne statystycznie przy P:S;O,Ola, b - statistically significant differences at P:S;O.05- różnice istotne statystycznie przy P:S;O,05

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The studies of Makarski [9] indicate that the highest weight was also noted in theturkey group pravided with copper chelate dietary additive but at a 3-fold lower dose.Similarly, Miles et al. [12], Guo R. et al. [7] and Aoyagi and Baker [1] did not eonfirma positive effect of a higher copper eontent on poultry weight gains. In the presentresearch, as late as in 3 final weeks of turkey life, the weight gains of the birdsadministered raising Cu amount (50 mg Cull H20) praved higher than in the contral,yet lower than group II. The present study findings have confirmed the growth-stirnu-lating effects of copper for turkeys.

Inclusion of 1% herb mix feed additive did not imprave turkey weight gains.Throughout the nearly entire study period, average weight of turkeys from III group(herb supplementation) was lower than the contro!, which was confirmed statistically.Only in the final fattening week, these birds' weight was higher as compared to thecontrol but the differences were not statistically significant. Similarly, the researches ofMakarski and Polonis [10] did not show significant influence of herbs on turkey weightgrowth. However, Faruga et al. [4] proved statistically confirmed weight increase ofturkeys fed an herb supplemented diet in both, 4 and 18 breeding week. The studies onslaughter chickens [6] did not reveal any effect of herb extract additives (Achillea,Melissa, Hypericum, Urtica) to drinking water on final body weight. Only the birdsprovided with nettle extract weighed 3.6% more than the contral. In the other researchesof these authors [6] chickens fed supplemental dried herbs showed raised weight (by ca15%) in the first three breeding weeks.

Feed intake monitored during the research period (Tab. 6) showed that increasedcopper supply did not reduce feed intake, either. However, implementation of copperchelate at 30 mg CuJl H20 dos e impraved feed intake per kg of weight but withoutstatistical confirmation. In 7 and 8 breeding week, the peak values of this index wererecorded for the turkeys receiving copper chelate at 50 mg Cu/I H20 - 1.72 kg/kg (7fattening week) and those with herb mix supplement - 1.98 kg/kg (8 week). The lowestfeed intake was observed in birds from group III in 7 week (1.56 kg/kg) and from gra upII in 8 breeding week (1.78 kg/kg). From 11 week until the breeding period completion,the contral group was characterized by the highest feed intake, whereas copper cheIateand herb mix dietary additives have reduced feed consumption level. The differencesbetween the graups were not statistically significant. Beneficial copper impact on feedintake was also confirmed by other authors [l, 7, 11].

Alike the present research, Faruga and Pudyszak [5] and Faruga et al. [4] attributeddecIined feed intake per weight gain unit over the entire breeding period to the herbalmixture dietary incIusion.

The breeding period was folIowed by slaughter analysis, its findings are presentedin Figure 1 and 2. The feed supplements applied did not influence significantly birddressing percentage and the results complied with those obtained by Jankowski et al.[8] and Bochno et al. [2]. Analysis of carcass muscIes (Fig. 2) showed that copperchelate and herb mix dietary additives caused statistical differences solely in breastmuscle content, with its highest percentage in the eontrel graup. While the lowest breastmuscIe level observed in turkeys fed 50 mg Cu/I H20 - additive (24.98%) was lower

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Table 6 - Tabela 6Feed conversion (kg) ratio ofturkeys on l kg ofbody weightZużycie paszy (kg) na l kg masy ciała indyków

Age (weeks) Group I Group II Group III Group IVWiek (tyg.) Grupa I Grupa II Grupa III Grupa IV

I. 0.39 0.40 0.45 0.42

2. 0.97 0.90 1.00 0.96

3. 1.25 1.26 1.28 1.30

4. 1.32 1.31 1.30 1.28

5. 1.46 1.38 1.44 1.43

6. 1.46 1.40 1.48 1.50

7. 1.62ab 1.61ab 1.56" 1.72"

8. 1.80"b 1.78" 1.98b 1.81nb

9. 1.93 1.92 2.00 1.98

10. 202 1.96" 2. lOb 2.I1b

11. 2.16 2.13 2.11 2.12

12. 2.25 2.25 1.91 1.98

13. 2.35 2.30 2.33 2.32

14. 2.45 2.44 2.43 2.43

15. 2.89b 2.64" 2.65" 2.81b

16. 2.74 2.65 2.69 2.70

17. 2.93 2.73 2.81 2.84

than that reported by Faruga and Jankowski [3]. Shank muscle eontent was slightlyelevated in turkeys whose diet was improved with copper chelate (group II and IV),whereas thigh muscle percentage was som e lower in the experimental groups than inthe control. Similar results were presented by Makarski [9] studying turkey hens, whoreported that copper-lysine chelate in slaughter turkeys' diet reduced a breast muscleeontent and increased thigh and shank muscle percentage compared to the contro!.

Alike, Schleicher et al. [15] did not find any effect of the aforementioned herbs onelevated breast muscle eontent in slaughter chickens. The present research findings alsoagree with those reported by Faruga and Pudyszak [5] who noted a decline in breast,shank and thigh muscles eontent in the turkey receiving .Vipromix'' herb mix over theentire experimental period.

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------80-56'Yu-----------------'. 80,28%

85%

83% 81,68%

81%

group Igrupa I

group IIgrupa II

group IIIgrupa III

group IVgrupa IV

jI1I

Ij•-,l

l!

77%

Fig. l. The result of dissection anaJysis (%) of turkeysRys. l. Wyniki wydajności rzeźnej (%) indyków

5%

~=;---_.._-------30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

group Igrupa I

group IIgrupa II

group UTgrupa UT

group IVgrupa IV

j0% ł./~·==o!b==

D brest D shank • thighpiersiowe podudzia udowe

A, B - statistically significant differences at pg).01 - różnice istotne statystycznie przy l'$0,01a, b - statistically significant differences at l'$0.05 - różnice istotne statystycznie przy l'$0,05

Fig. 2. The percentage share of muscJes in turkey yieldRys. 2. Procentowy udział mięśni w tuszce

1!

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Summing up, the following concIusions can be drawn:

- copper chelate supplement (30 mg Cull H20 to water) stimulates weight gainsand reduces feed intake/kg weight gain;

- increased copper eontent did not improve weight or feed conversion rate consi-derably that advocates using lower copper level;

- dietary supplements applied did not affect dressing percentage;

- supplementary copper chelate and herb mix in turkeys diet decreased a breastmuscIe percentage in carcass.

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