title: Cloacal and surface temperatures of tom turkeys exposed to different rearing temperature regimes during the first 12 weeks of growth.
abstract: Years of genetic selection have caused an increase in growth rate and market body mass in agricultural poultry species compared to earlier genetic strains, potentially altering their physiological requirements. The objective of this study was to expose Hybrid Converter tom turkeys on a weekly basis to the recommended rearing temperature regime (TCON: control) or 4°C below the recommended standard (TTRT: treatment) to determine their thermal responses. Once per week for 12 weeks, 12 turkeys were individually exposed to either TCON or TTRT for a 2-h period. Surface temperatures of the breast (TBREAST), wing (TWING), drumstick (TDRUM), head (THEAD), and shank (TSHANK) were measured at 20-min intervals using an infrared camera, while a thermal data logger measured the skin surface temperature under the wing (TLOGGER) at 30-s intervals. The cloacal temperature (TCORE) was measured using a medical thermometer at the start and end of the exposure period. Regardless of exposure temperature, the TBREAST (TCON: P<0.001 and TTRT: P<0.001), TWING (TCON: P<0.001 and TTRT: P<0.001), and TDRUM (TCON: P<0.001 and TTRT: P<0.001) decreased from weeks 4 to 6 and remained constant from weeks 1 to 3 and 8 to 12. THEAD was elevated in week 2 (TCON: P<0.001) or week 3 (TTRT: P<0.001), TSHANK increased slightly during week 3 for both TCON (P<0.001) and TTRT (P<0.001), and TLOGGER (TCON: P<0.001 and TTRT: P=0.001) and TCORE (TCON: P<0.001 and TTRT: P<0.001) were lower during the first week. Thereafter, THEAD, TSHANK, TLOGGER, and TCORE remained constant. Exposure to TTRT resulted in lower TBREAST, TWING, and TDRUM compared to TCON. Generally, THEAD, TSHANK, TLOGGER, and TCORE were not affected by the different exposure temperatures. The data demonstrated that the degree of thermal response expressed is dependent on the location of measurement, age, and exposure temperature.
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Mayes
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Strawford
authors.forename: S D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Noble
authors.forename: H L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Classen
authors.forename: T G
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Crowe
mesh_terms: D000822:Animal Husbandry / Q000379:methods*; D000818:Animals; D001831:Body Temperature; D008297:Male; D012881:Skin Temperature; D013696:Temperature; D014422:Turkeys / Q000502:physiology*