High density diets improve turkey breast meat yield

Feeding turkeys a diet higher in proteins and amino acids improves breast meat yield and operational profitability.

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Feeding turkeys a diet higher in proteins and amino acids improves breast meat yield and operational profitability.

As part of a webinar on turkey health and nutrition, Aviagen Turkeys Inc. President Jihad Douglas spoke about new research on feeding turkeys for meat yield. He spoke on December 16, 2021.


Jihad DouglasJihad Douglas, Aviagen Turkeys (Courtesy Aviagen Turkeys)

 

COVID defined 2020, 2021  

Douglas said the turkey industry was deeply affected by the COVID-19 crisis. Along with that, it’s faced a labor shortage, impacting plant operations. That means tom turkeys are slaughtered at 24 or 25 weeks of age with greater yield but worse feed conversion ratios.

The industry also dealt with shortages of various materials, and when found, prices were higher. Across the board, input costs rose and will continue to rise. The two main feed ingredients impacting turkey, corn and soybean prices, were historically high in 2020 but are trending downward.


Aviagen Feed Trial TomsHigher density diets are more expensive. In the trial, feed costs were $1 greater per bird. (Courtesy Aviagen Turkeys)

 

Dilution and higher than expected prices

Feed prices are significant for turkey because feed inputs account for 70% of total costs for the producer, he said.  

In the recent past, turkey producers diluted their diets due to high feed prices and low meat prices. Breast meat prices fell as low as $1.20 per pound while corn and soybean prices soared. Dilution, which will dilute meat output, made sense given there was no great need for meat.

Unexpectedly, breast meat prices are rising as high as $3.75 per pound. Dark meat prices rose, too. The goal of the industry now, Douglas said, is to capitalize on the drastic price increase. The focus is on balancing feed inputs and meat outputs.

High density diets

Because Aviagen wanted to understand the direct relationship between high density diets and weight gain in tom turkeys, a study was performed comparing a standard diet with a high-density diet containing 10% greater protein and more amino acids. Both diets had the same metabolizable energy levels.

At the end of the trial, toms fed a high-density diet weighed slightly more than the control bird and featured a higher breast meat yield after processing. Douglas said this is critical in the U.S. because the breast meat accounts for more than 60% of the carcass value.

In a commercial setting, higher density diets are more expensive. In the trial, feed costs were $1 greater per bird. However, the higher density bird yielded nearly $2 more worth of meat. The higher density bird generated approximately $1 in profits.

Screenshot 2022 01 13 082227In a study comparing a comparing a standard diet with a high-density diet containing 10% greater protein and more amino acids, toms fed a high-density diet weighed slightly more than the control bird and featured a higher breast meat yield after processing.

 

Turkey industry dynamics

Turkeys take seven to eight months to reach processing while chickens take six to seven weeks. Feed input costs versus total yield are critically important and the cost of those inputs vary greatly over that time span, which affects operational profitability.

The industry features more companies that are cooperatives, grower-owned or exist only to process birds grown by independent growers. For an integrator, the decision to pay more for feed is easy because they know value will be captured after processing.

For an independent grower paid on live weight that must wait until processing to get paid, paying significantly higher feed costs is more diificult.

“There’s no doubt that investing in the diet, based on the prices of the meat, was worth it,” Douglas said.


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