Growth rate and acid-base balance in turkeys fed a silage-containing diet modified by different dietary cation-anion difference

Abstract

The aim of the study was to find the responses of acid-base parameters and performance parameters of turkeys to a corn silage (CS) diet with different values of the dietary cation-anion difference (DCAD). The turkeys were fed as follows: group A (control) – standard diet (SD) (60%) plus CS (40%); group B – SD (60%), CS (40%) plus 240 g of CaCl2 per100 kg of diet; group C – SD (60%), CS (40%) plus 480 g of CaCl2 per 100 kg of diet; group D – SD (60%), CS (40%) plus 240 g of NaHCO3 per 100 kg of diet; group E – SD (60%), CS (40%) plus 480 g NaHCO3 per 100 kg of diet. The addition of the smaller amount of CaCl2 reduced DCAD, which ranged between 49.75 ± 6.29 mEq/kg DM and 93.56 ± 3.34 mEq/kg DM. An increased content of CaCl2 led to high, negative values of DCAD. NaHCO3 supplemented in both doses resulted in a significant elevation of DCAD. The addition of CS to the SD led to a lower body weight in comparison to that in the B, C, D and E groups. Forage acidification and alkalization improves body weight gain (BWG) at every stage of feeding. Compared to the control group, the anion gap was insignificantly lower in birds exposed to the acidic diet, and was comparable to the decrease in HCO3 –. Conversely, the addition of NaHCO3 to the diet led to a marked elevation in HCO3 – to 29.63 ± 0.4 mEq/L in group D and to 30.3 ± 0.69 mEq/l in group E. In conclusion, a change in DCAD during the feeding of forage containing CS exerts stimulatory effects on productive parameters of turkeys....