Influence of virginiamycin on energy utilization when turkey poults were fed ad libitum or restricted.

An experiment was conducted with day-old turkey poults to study the influence of virginiamycin on energy utilization. A 2 X 2 factorial arrangement of treatments was used, which included ad libitum or a 25% feed restriction and 0 or 22 ppm of virginiamycin. Virginiamycin in the diet significantly improved body weight, feed efficiency, and dietary energy utilization when poults were fed ad libitum or when feed was restricted. These data indicate that virginiamycin enhances the utilization of dietary energy by turkey poults.