- Johannes Bünger, Moorgut Kartzfehn Turkey Breeder GmbH
- Henri Grave, Naturland NRW e.V.
- Bettina Gräfin von Spee, Association of German Turkey Producers e.V.
- Franziska Hagen, German Animal Welfare Association e.V.
- Friedrich Wilhelm Haver-Rassfeld, Meierhof Rassfeld
- Silke Schierhold, Lower Saxony Chamber of Agriculture
- Jens von Seggern, farmer
- Dr. Heinrich Windhaus, Die Praxis für Geflügel GbR
- Hannah Kanwischer, Lower Saxony Chamber of Agriculture
- Dr. Isa Kernberger-Fischer
- Dr. Katja Kulke
Introduction
Maintaining animal welfare – and, in particular, the health of a flock of turkeys – at a consistently high standard requires good management. Among other things, an optimal house climate and a feed and water supply tailored to the birds’ needs are important factors throughout the entire rearing period. In particular, dry and loose litter, as well as access to the outdoor environment and good outdoor access management, contribute to maintaining the health and ensuring the expected development of a flock.
Enrichment materials and structural elements, such as straw bales or raised platforms, enable the birds to engage in their natural exploratory and resting behaviours, amongst other things. The risk and extent of behavioural problems such as feather pecking and damage pecking can be reduced by providing an adequate range of enrichment.
To ensure that turkey rearing remains animal-friendly in the long term, the early detection of deviations in flock development, behaviour and the rearing environment plays a significant role. The basis for this is regular and careful monitoring of individual birds and the flock as a whole, combined with consistent documentation on the house record sheet. Both help to identify emerging problems at an early stage (detect and assess), to take countermeasures at an early stage if necessary (act), and to review their effectiveness and make adjustments where required.
As the animals’ weight development is an important indicator of the herd’s fitness, additional interim assessments should be carried out, for example every four weeks, as well as when animals are transferred from a previous rearing phase and following a change in feed. In addition to weight trends, other resource- and animal-related indicators should also be recorded and assessed. This allows the animals’ development to be monitored continuously. It enables early intervention, if necessary, even during the rearing cycle, should target values relating to, for example, animal health and/or performance not be met. Furthermore, continuous records, in conjunction with slaughter findings (mortality, breast skin lesions (cocks), rejects, foot and leg health & feathered carcasses), to compare different batches with one another (benchmarking) and to identify and prevent deviations as either one-off or recurring.
The aim of this tool is to illustrate, in a practical manner, what to look out for during daily animal checks and interim assessments, how to interpret the results, and what measures can be taken.