THE EFFECT OF PROTEIN LEVEL FED DURING THE PREBREEDER PERIOD ON PERFORMANCE OF LARGE WHITE TURKEY BREEDER HENS AFTER AN INDUCED MOLT

An experiment was conducted to examine the effects of prebreeder prote in levels on reproductive performance Large White turkey breeder hens after an induced molt. One hundred and sixty-eight, Nicholas Large Whi te turkey breeder hens were fed either 8, 12, or 16% CP diets (2,904 k cal ME/kg) during the prebreeder period from 56 to 64 wk of age. All h ens were photostimulated with 15.5 h of light/d and fed a standard 16% CP breeder ration from 64 to 87 wk of age. Feed intake, plasma trigly ceride concentration, reproductive performance, and body weight were r egressed on age and prebreeder dietary protein intake using a general linear model. Prebreeder protein intake increased linearly as dietary CP increased. Treatments did not affect prebreeder feed consumption or subsequent egg production. Egg weight and breeder feed consumption we re greatest for hens fed 12% CP during the prebreeder period. Plasma t riglyceride and body weight increased as prebreeder dietary CP increas ed. Body weight increased from 56 to 87 wk in a cubic response as the hens aged. Feed consumption increased during the prebreeder period and decreased during the breeder period. Plasma triglyceride content was not affected by turkey hen age or stage of production.