EFFECTS OF CONTROLLING BODY-WEIGHT ON THE SEMEN PRODUCTION OF LARGE WHITE TURKEY MALES

1. The consequences of limiting body weight gain during rearing on subsequent semen production and quality of Large White turkey males were assessed in a factorial experiment comparing ad libitum or restricted feeding in two periods (6 to 18 and 19 to 54 weeks of age). 2. The proportion of males giving semen, semen yields and concentrations of spermatozoa, and the incidence of unstable hock joints, were lower in males severely restricted from 6 to 18 weeks of age. 3. The best performance was from males that were reared on ad libitum feeding and fed 0.85 of ad libitum food consumption from 19 to 54 weeks of age.