Stocking density as a possible etiological factor in the development of keel “bubbles” in turkeys
Authors: Fedyniak R. I. , Peleno R. A. 
Published: August 2022

A significant increase in demand among the population for turkey meat makes turkey farming one of the most competitive and economically profitable agribusinesses and the fastest growing segment of poultry farming. The investment attractiveness of growing turkeys increases annually by 20–30 %, and the profitability is from 20 to 25 %. Consumer demand, which ensures a constant sales market, sufficient fodder base, availability of labor resources, and several other factors became prerequisites for the transformation of turkey farming from small homestead enterprises into large industrial complexes, which, as a rule, implement intensive production technology. The desire of the owners to increase profits, using the minimum amount of production space for this purpose, quite often leads to the violation of established sanitary and hygienic requirements, which regulate the density of poultry planting per 1 m2 of area. An increase in the number of animals or birds in a specific territory leads to a deterioration of the body's physiological state and a decrease in resistance. It is also the cause of the emergence and development of diseases, both infectious and non-infectious etiology. With the intensive technology of growing turkeys, there is a rapid growth of muscle tissue, in particular, the sternum, which is much more likely to be injured due to a high density of planting, which can be one of the etiological factors of the formation and development of keel "bubbles."The research was carried out at “Indykat” LLC and “UPG-Invest” LLC, which are located in the village of Kadubivtsi and village Mamaivtsi, Chernivtsi region, as well as the “Dobrobut” MPP of the village. Berezdivtsi of the Lviv region on turkeys of the Big-6 breed, in which the density of planting turkeys was different. To establish the dependence of the number of cases of damage to the bird by the keel "bubbles" on the density of its landing on 30, 60, 90, 120, and 150 days of cultivation, an examination of the entire flock was carried out, which included an examination and palpation of the sternum. During the final period of both females and males rearing, the number of lesions was determined based on the post-mortem examination of the carcasses. It was established that in all experimental farms, the density of poultry housing was more significant than the established sanitary and hygienic norms. The slightest deviation from the regulated indicators, which ranged from 16.7 to 37.5 %, in all age groups, was in the form of LLC “UPG-Invest”, and the largest, from 30.2 to 39.4 %, was in the MPP “Welfare”. The pathology of the keel in turkeys in the form of “bubbles” was clinically manifested from the 61st day of their rearing. The most minor incidence, which ranged from 5.2 to 13.9 %, was in the age group of 61–90 days, increased with age and, in the period from 91 to 120 days, ranged from 15.4 to 20.9 %, and from 121 to 150 days – from 18.4 to 23.9 %. According to such indicators, the average incidence of the indicated age groups in experimental poultry farms was 10.3, 17.4, and 20.6 %, respectively. The least affected (13.1 %) was the poultry at UPG-Invest LLC, where the stocking density exceeded the maximum permissible values by only 0.7–1.2 birds/m2, and the most (18.9 %) was at the MPP farm “Dobrobut”, in which the density of accommodation was more significant than the established sanitary and hygienic standards by 1.3–2.6 birds/m2.