Fear behaviour in turkey poults of fast and slow growing breeds

Characterisation of fear response in turkey breeds could bring important beneficial information for future breeding, animal welfare and preservation of breeds. The two major turkey breeds raised presently in Nigeria are Hybrid Converter turkey (HCT) and Nigerian indigenous turkey (NIT). The HCT has been selected for fast growth and can adapt to different environmental and management conditions. In contrast, NIT is an unselected slow-growing bird that is hardy and well-adapted to the tropical climate of Nigeria. This study examined fear behaviour in turkey poults of fast and slow growing breeds to know how genetic selection for fast growth has shaped fear response in young turkeys. Twenty-five each of white NIT and HCT poults were used for this study. Fear tests such as tonic immobility, emergence, open field, inversion and attention bias tests were used to assess fear responses in the turkey poults during the first 16 days of life. A Wilcoxon Two-Sample test was used to determine the effect of the turkey breed on the poults' fear responses. There was a significant breed effect on the duration of tonic immobility (W-s=482.00, z =-3.0138, p = 0.003) and latency to emerge from a dark box (W-s=382.00, z =-4.9521, p = 0.000). The HCT stayed in tonic immobility longer than NIT, while NIT emerged faster than HCT from the dark box. There was also a significant breed effect on vocalization duration (W-s=664.50, z = 3.65, p = 0.000) in the open field arena, with longer duration of vocalization in NIT compared with HCT. More escape attempts (W-s=598.00, z = 3.05, p = 0.004) and more explored floor squares (W-s=606.50, z = 2.43, p = 0.015) were observed in NIT compared with HCT during the open field test. The results obtained from this study showed significant breed differences in the fear responses of the turkey poults, with HCT poults being more fearful than NIT. The increased fear response observed in HCT poults appears to be an unintended consequence of selection for fast growth. Genetic selection programmes aimed at improving growth in turkeys should also consider their fear behaviour.