Influence of exogenous T4 on body weight, feed consumption, T4 levels, and myocardial glycogen in furazolidone-fed turkey poults

Abstract

Ten turkey poults each were placed in one of four groups: control, thyroxine (T4), furazolidone (FZ), and FZ + T4. Thyroxine (T4), at a concentration of 1 ppm, was included in the ration of poults fed T4 and FZ + T4, and furazolidone (FZ), at a concentration of 700 ppm, was included in the ration of poults fed FZ and FZ + T4 from 2 to 5 weeks of age. Levels of plasma T4 decreased significantly (P less than or equal to 0.05) between 2 and 5 weeks in control and FZ poults. At 5 weeks, plasma T4 levels were significantly (P less than or equal to 0.05) lower in FZ poults than in control poults and significantly (P less than or equal to 0.05) lower in the FZ + T4 poults than in the T4 poults. Exogenous administration of T4 had no effect on development of the round heart syndrome or on body weight, but significantly increased feed consumption in FZ-fed poults during weeks 4 (P less than or equal to 0.05) and 5 (P less than or equal to 0.01). Inclusion of T4 in the ration increased plasma levels of the hormone 12x in both T4 and FZ + T4 poults and significantly (P less than or equal to 0.05) increased myocardial glycogen content in T4 poults but not in FZ + T4 poults.