Effects of beak amputation and sex on the pecking rate damage and performance parameters of turkey

This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of sex and beak trimming on pecking and the performance of turkeys. Five hundred and forty unsexed, day old British United Turkey poults were was divided into 3 treatments based on beak trimming at 0, 1/4, 1/3 measured from the tip of the beak inwards with 3 replicates of 60 poults each experiment 1 while 480 turkeys (240 each of male and female) were transferred and allotted to 4 treatment groups of 120 birds each and 4 replicates of 30 turkeys each in experiment 2. Data on performance response and severity of pecking were taken and subjected to one-way analysis of variance in a completely randomised design (experiment 1) and 2x2 factorial layout (factors were sex and beak trimming). Results showed that beak trimming had no significant (p>0.05) effect on all the performance parameters of turkey poults except feed intake while sex and beak trimming had significant (p