Effect of feed and water withdrawal on green liver discoloration, serum triglycerides, and hemoconcentration in turkeys.

Turkey poults at 1 d of age were obtained from a local hatchery (Experiment 1), or at 14 wk of age from a local grower (Experiment 2), and kept in floor pens with feed and water available for ad libitum consumption. When the turkeys reached 16 wk of age (Experiment 1) and 18 wk of age (Experiment 2), the treatments were established within a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement and consisted of ad libitum consumption of feed and water (control), or feed, water, or both feed and water withdrawal. In Experiment 1, 1 turkey per pen, 6 turkeys per treatment, were killed every 4 h for 32 h, and in Experiment 2, 10 turkeys per treatment were killed at 24, 30, 36, 42, 48, and 54 h after feed, or water, or both had been withdrawn. The turkeys were bled at sampling times 16 and 32 h in Experiment 1 and at each sampling time in Experiment 2. Serum was collected and hematological and clinical chemistries performed. The turkeys were examined for green liver discoloration and turkey osteomyelitis complex lesions. Withdrawal of feed, water, or both feed and water for up to 54 h did not affect the incidence of green liver discoloration in these studies. Serum triglyceride concentrations were the most sensitive blood constituent to either water or feed withdrawal, with reductions (P < or = 0.05) occurring at 16 h after feed withdrawal. Hemoconcentration resulted in an increase in hematocrit and hemoglobin levels 30 h after water withdrawal.