Feeding behaviour in turkeys with a change-over from crumbs to pellets
Résumé
Poultry receive different diets during their rearing but these changes can result in a major reduction in feed intake and subsequently in growth. This problem is widespread in turkeys, especially with feed changes from crumbs to pellets. This experiment aimed to analyse behaviour during this change-over and identify the respective cues involved. Moreover, because pellet colour and hardness have been shown to influence feeding behaviour, differences in these cues were used to investigate their impact on behaviour during the change-over. Ninety-six caged turkeys were fed with crumbs until 28 days of age. They were divided into five groups: a control group that received crumbs throughout the experiment and four experimental groups each receiving one of four pellet types contrasting in colour and hardness. Feeds were distributed at the beginning of the light period and feed intake was measured every 20 min for 2 h on three different days: before feed transition (D - 1), during change-over from crumbs to pellets (D0) and 24 h after transition (D + 1). Animals were filmed tw