EFFECT OF LITTER OILING AND VENTILATION RATE ON AIR-QUALITY, HEALTH, AND PERFORMANCE OF TURKEYS

An experiment was conducted with male heavy turkeys to study the effec ts of the application of canola oil to litter and ventilation rate, on health status and growth performance at 16 weeks of age. Litter oilin g and increased ventilation rate significantly reduced the concentrati on of aerosol dust particles and the incidence of lung lesions. Overal l, birds that developed lung lesions were those which had a fast rate of growth initially (8 to 12 weeks of age). Such birds later exhibited a relatively slow rate of growth (12 to 16 weeks of age). There would appear to be a negative relationship between the development of lung lesions and subsequent growth rate. Litter oiling offers a practical m eans of reducing dust in poultry housing.