Milford chronicle., 1933-03-03
PULLORUM DISEASE

CBy H. Il. Baker, Poultry Patholng-
ist, State Board of AgriCulturcl.
Pullorum Disease. (Bacillary White
Diarrhea) is an infectious. disease of
baby chicks caused by a germ call
ed Salmonella pullorum. This germ
is carried in the ovary or egg pro-
dueing organ of many adult hens
that contracted the diseases when
they were chicks or later in life. The
germ passes from the diseased Ovary
into the yolks of the eggs laid by
infected hens. In baby chicks this
yOll1 is found inside the body cavity,
where il serves as nourishment for
the chick for few days after it has
Matched. 1t is quite evident, then.
that chicks hatchcd from infected
eggs may be infected with the germ
at the time of Matching. II the germ
is present at the time of Matching.
the check may soon sicken and even
die. Symptoms of sickness usually
appear within the first week after
Matching, but may be delayed for
few days. Some chicks may die
from this disease as late as two or
three weeks after Matching. Some
of these may have contracted the
disease from other chicks that had
it at the time of Matching. Chicks
sick with Pullorum Disease drink
much water; they do not eat; they
are cold and hover most of the time;
their wings drOop; their bodies ap-
pear short; and around their vents
there may be white, pasty mate
rial. These symptoms, however,
may appear in other chick ailments
caused by Overheating, chilling, or
by improper feeding. These bad con-
ditions, of course, will also aggra-
vate the disease and cause the NOR
tality to be higher For this reason
it is necessary to have laboratory
examination made to be absolutely
sure of the presence Of the disease.
There is no cure for Pullorum
Disease, so that the prevention and |
eradication of the disease depends |
upOn the removal of all infected lay
ing birds from the breeding flock by !
means of the blood test, because 1t
is impossible TO pick out the germ
carriers by mere physical eXami-
nation.
The dangers of the presence OF
Pullurum Disease carriers in the
flock and the advantages in remOv-
ing them from the flock are as fol-
lows:
N The death rate of the chick
ems hatchcd from egGs of Pullorum
Disease carriers is very high.
Records kept in the Delaware
Grow Healthy Chicks" campaign of
1929 showed that out of $4,000
chicks Matched from blood tested
stock only 1870 died in the first rs
lays. Whereas, there was Il mortal
ty of 1867 in $4,000 chicks hatch
I'd from nOn-tested stock.
(2) The fertility of the eggs, is
over.
In an experiment in Kansas, 1t
was shown that the fertility of eggs
rom infected hens was 579S as COM
Jared to 9O.19o fertility from non
Infected hens.
go The death of the embryo is
higher in eggs hatclled from infected
locks.
In q Kansas experiment, il was
ound that 54.S95 of the embryos i'll
he eggs from infected hens died
bout the 18th day of incubation,
whereas there was u death of only
2.Sg6 of the embryos in the fertile
ggs from the non-reacting hens.
(l) Hens with infected Ovaries |
will show the reason for this. Prac- i
ical1y all of the unripe eggs are alb
Iormal, misshapen and deformed, I
'hese would never develop into {
ggs. The few normal eggs would t
AIRY hundreds of the Pullorum Dis /
ase germs.
In the Home Egg Laying Contest S
Il Connecticut the average egg pro- c
uction of flocks obtained from Pull I
Drum Disease free sources was 40 1
ggs, whereas other flocks had an l
verage production of t57 eggs. This S
ifference of 13 eggs should not be {
ghtly considered when purchasing t
ay-old chicks for egg production. a
(5) The death rate of reactor C
ems is higher than normal hens. v