Publication Database

General overview on turkey production (2024)

Art

Buchbeitrag

Autoren

Shehata, Awad A.

Hafez Mohamed, Hafez (WE 15)

Quelle

Turkey diseases and disorders — Hafez M. Hafez, Awad A. Shehata, editors (Hrsg.)

Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland, 2024; Volume 1. Bacterial and fungal infectious diseases — S. 1–26

ISBN: 978-3-031-63318-8

Sprache

Englisch

Verweise

URL (Volltext): https://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-031-63318-8_1

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-63318-8_1

Kontakt

Nutztierklinik: Abteilung Geflügel

Königsweg 63
14163 Berlin
+49 30 838 62676
gefluegelkrankheiten@vetmed.fu-berlin.de

Abstract / Zusammenfassung

Turkeys are raised commercially in most countries around the world. The wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) is the ancestor of domestic turkeys, domesticated by the indigenous peoples of North America. The Mexican subspecies M.g. gallopavo is the first ancestor of domestic turkeys. The M.g. sylvestris subspecies was later hybridized with the M.g. gallopavo to form the modern commercial turkeys. It was brought to Europe after the discovery of the Americas. The turkey industry faces various challenges, including strong global competition between producing countries, the migration of large poultry producers to countries with lower production costs, and steady increases in feed costs. Indeed, the genetic selection practices within the turkey industry have achieved remarkable progress in rapid growth rate, improved feed conversion rate, higher meat output, reasonable production cost, and continuous improvement in husbandry practices, nutrition, and disease control. However, there is a big worry that genetic selection might cause serious problems related to animal welfare and health. Compared to traditional lines, the genetically selected birds have reduced cardiopulmonary capacity compared to their muscle mass, as the ratio of development of the heart and lungs has strongly decreased in modern turkeys. Since traditional turkeys’ blood pressure is known to be almost half that of modern ones, this physiological imbalance causes problems such as sudden death syndrome, deep pectoral myopathy, and aortic rupture. Furthermore, genetic selection is a cause of musculoskeletal system problems related to fast growth, such as dyschondroplasia and footpad dermatitis. In this chapter, we shed light on the domestication and dissemination of turkeys. Also, we will discuss the most common public health issues related to turkey and turkey products. Finally, the impacts of genetic selection in turkeys on health conditions will be discussed.