Influence of dietary concentration and source of meat and bone meal on performance of turkeys

Two experiments were conducted to determine the influence of dietary concentration and source of meat and bone meal (MBM) on performance of tom turkeys from 1 to 119 d of age. In Experiment 1, six replicate pens of toms were fed diets containing 0, 3, 6.5, or 10% MBM. Feeding up to 10% MBM resulted in 119-d BW and feed to gain ratios (F:G) equal to those of toms fed the diet containing no MBM (14.09 kg per tom, F:G = 2.68 for 10% MBM vs 14.08 kg per tom and F:G = 2.70 for the control). Five MBM were evaluated at 10% of the diet in Experiment 2. These MBM differed in source material and proportions of source material (beef, poultry, or pork processing by-products) from which they were made. As compared with feeding a diet containing no MBM, feeding diets with 10% of any of the MBM supported satisfactory 119-d BW and F:G. The data show that up to 10% dietary MBM obtained from different sources can be used successfully for growing turkeys when diets are formulated by using CP, amino acid, Ca, and P data for MBM obtained by laboratory analysis and the MEn value listed for MBM in NRC (1994).