Impacts of chromium propionate on Tom Turkey performance and removal rates during a 19-week production cycle
4 affiliations
- 1Department of Animal Science, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, 50011, United States of America
- 2Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, 50011, United States of America
- 3Kemin Industries Inc, Des Moines, Iowa, 50317, United States of America
- 4Department of Animal Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, 27695, United States of America
Abstract
Chromium propionate (Cr Prop) is a highly bioavailable form of Cr that has been shown to increase insulin sensitivity in turkeys. Studies have indicated that Cr may mitigate the impacts of stress in broilers and layers. Turkey production can involve stress-inducing events that can negatively impact growth performance and overall production efficiency. Therefore, this study evaluated the effects of dietary Cr Prop supplementation on growth performance, turkey removal rate, and feed conversion ratio (FCR) in turkeys over a 19-wk period. Additionally, circulating corticosterone concentrations were evaluated at 4, 5, 6, and 18 wks. Toms (n=960) were assigned to either a control (CON) or Cr Prop supplemented diet (CHR; KemTRACE® Cr Prop) containing 0.20 mg Cr/kg diet from placement through 19 wk of age. Body weight, feed intake and FCR were measured at feed phase changes. Turkey removals were recorded and assigned cause of removal. Chromium fed turkeys exhibited higher BW in early (wk 5; P = 0.001) and mid-growth phases (wk 14 and 17; P < 0.050). Turkey removals were reduced in CHR-fed birds between wk 5–8 and 14–17 (P < 0.014), with toms culled due to lameness being greater in those fed the control diet. To compensate for differences in stocking density, weight (kg) per pen area (m2) was calculated during the different phases in the grower. Toms fed the CHR diets had greater kg/m2 during all grower phases (P < 0.03). As these changes in performance may be due to changes in stress of the bird, circulating corticosterone concentrations were measured. Hours after moving to the grower (5 wk of age), toms fed the CHR diets tended to have decreased circulating corticosterone concentrations (P = 0.099); however, this tendency was reversed (P = 0.079) at 6 wk of age. The supplementation of Cr Prop increased survivability of turkeys due to decreased lameness and resulted in more weight per area of barn.
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BibTeX
@article{wilson2026impacts,
title = {{Impacts of chromium propionate on Tom Turkey performance and removal rates during a 19-week production cycle}},
author = {Brooke A. Wilson and Brett C. Ramirez and Mary Sue Mayes and Karen Vignale and Jerry W. Spears and Dawn A. Koltes},
journal = {Poultry Science},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.psj.2026.107937},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psj.2026.107937},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Impacts of chromium propionate on Tom Turkey performance and removal rates during a 19-week production cycle
AU - Brooke A. Wilson
AU - Brett C. Ramirez
AU - Mary Sue Mayes
AU - Karen Vignale
AU - Jerry W. Spears
AU - Dawn A. Koltes
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/10
JO - Poultry Science
DO - 10.1016/j.psj.2026.107937
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psj.2026.107937
AB - Chromium propionate (Cr Prop) is a highly bioavailable form of Cr that has been shown to increase insulin sensitivity in turkeys. Studies have indicated that Cr may mitigate the impacts of stress in broilers and layers. Turkey production can involve stress-inducing events that can negatively impact growth performance and overall production efficiency. Therefore, this study evaluated the effects of dietary Cr Prop supplementation on growth performance, turkey removal rate, and feed conversion ratio (FCR) in turkeys over a 19-wk period. Additionally, circulating corticosterone concentrations were evaluated at 4, 5, 6, and 18 wks. Toms (n=960) were assigned to either a control (CON) or Cr Prop supplemented diet (CHR; KemTRACE® Cr Prop) containing 0.20 mg Cr/kg diet from placement through 19 wk of age. Body weight, feed intake and FCR were measured at feed phase changes. Turkey removals were recorded and assigned cause of removal. Chromium fed turkeys exhibited higher BW in early (wk 5; P = 0.001) and mid-growth phases (wk 14 and 17; P < 0.050). Turkey removals were reduced in CHR-fed birds between wk 5–8 and 14–17 (P < 0.014), with toms culled due to lameness being greater in those fed the control diet. To compensate for differences in stocking density, weight (kg) per pen area (m2) was calculated during the different phases in the grower. Toms fed the CHR diets had greater kg/m2 during all grower phases (P < 0.03). As these changes in performance may be due to changes in stress of the bird, circulating corticosterone concentrations were measured. Hours after moving to the grower (5 wk of age), toms fed the CHR diets tended to have decreased circulating corticosterone concentrations (P = 0.099); however, this tendency was reversed (P = 0.079) at 6 wk of age. The supplementation of Cr Prop increased survivability of turkeys due to decreased lameness and resulted in more weight per area of barn.
SN - 0032-5791
SN - 1525-3171
ER -