Two randomized block experiments were
conducted to determine the effects of litter moisture
and age on the development of foot pad dermatitis
(FPD) in female growing turkeys. Pens were littered
with fresh wood shavings at the start of the experiments
and excreta and soiled litter were replaced twice
daily to maintain clean litter. In experiment 1 the birds
(n = 5/pen) were subjected to increasing quantities of
water to produce different litter moisture contents for
6 d. In experiment 2 the effects on FPD of high litter
moisture for 6 d at 7, 21, 42, and 70 d were assessed.
Scores for FPD, food intake, BW gain, litter moisture,
litter pH, and behavior were assessed after 6 d on wet
compared with dry, clean wood shavings litter. A linear
effect was found of increasing litter moisture on
mean foot score. Mean foot score increased with age on
transfer to wet litter but the effect of age was relatively
small. Body weight gains were similar in wet and dry
treatments whereas feed intake was higher in turkeys
kept on wet litter compared with dry litter. The results
are consistent with the conclusion that high litter moisture
is the primary cause of FPD and that turkeys are
similarly susceptible from 7 to 70 d of age