Impacts of chromium propionate on Tom Turkey performance and removal rates during a 19-week production cycle

Chromium propionate (Cr Prop) is a highly bioavailable form of Cr that has been shown to increase insulin sensitivity in turkeys. Studies have indicated that Cr may mitigate the impacts of stress in broilers and layers. Turkey production can involve stress-inducing events that can negatively impact growth performance and overall production efficiency. Therefore, this study evaluated the effects of dietary Cr Prop supplementation on growth performance, turkey removal rate, and feed conversion ratio (FCR) in turkeys over a 19-wk period. Additionally, circulating corticosterone concentrations were evaluated at 4, 5, 6, and 18 wks. Toms (n=960) were assigned to either a control (CON) or Cr Prop supplemented diet (CHR; KemTRACE® Cr Prop) containing 0.20 mg Cr/kg diet from placement through 19 wk of age. Body weight, feed intake and FCR were measured at feed phase changes. Turkey removals were recorded and assigned cause of removal. Chromium fed turkeys exhibited higher BW in early (wk 5; P = 0.001) and mid-growth phases (wk 14 and 17; P < 0.050). Turkey removals were reduced in CHR-fed birds between wk 5-8 and 14-17 (P < 0.014), with toms culled due to lameness being greater in those fed the control diet. To compensate for differences in stocking density, weight (kg) per pen area (m²) was calculated during the different phases in the grower. Toms fed the CHR diets had greater kg/m² during all grower phases (P < 0.03). As these changes in performance may be due to changes in stress of the bird, circulating corticosterone concentrations were measured. Hours after moving to the grower (5 wk of age), toms fed the CHR diets tended to have decreased circulating corticosterone concentrations (P = 0.099); however, this tendency was reversed (P = 0.079) at 6 wk of age. The supplementation of Cr Prop increased survivability of turkeys due to decreased lameness and resulted in more weight per area of barn.