The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-11-19
YOUNG TURKEYS
NEED GOOD CARE

Inc first fourteen days after
match are the most important days
IN the life of the turkey because
about half the mortality occurs at
this time and then there is another
critical period between the four
teenth and sixteenth weeks, when
Dlackhead usually takes it's toll,
says the sixty-seventh annual re-
port of the Agricultural Expert
ment Station at State College, re-
Gently released by Director L. D..
Baver.
Data from the Station Turkey
Plant at Raleigh also shows that
time of hatch is very important.
These indicate that the later the
time of hatch, the greater the per-
centage of mortality. A summary
OF the causes of mortality in young
mems over a period of three years
shows that blackhead is responsible
TOR 32.2 percent OF al deaths. Crop
disorders accounted for 1873 percent
loss of the birds and other major
causes of death were mycosis,
tumors, and pathological condi-
tons of the reproductive system.
Quoting directly from the re-
port, THE major problem in the
control of the pullorum disease in
turkeys lies in the detection and
removal of infected breeding stock
through blood tests to detect the
infected birds.
ITO date, an intensive study has
been carried out on IL birds that
were artificially infected with the
pullorum germ. After repeated
blood tests, these birds were fin
ally killed and the tissues examin-
ed for the presence of the germ.
Both the rapid tube test de-
tected the birds that became in
fected and were carriers of the di-
sease, but more turkeys, especi-
ally naturally infected birds, will
be studied to evaluate these blood
tests better.
"Feces and eggs from these
birds were also tested to determine
if infected turkeys voided the pull.
Drum germ in their feces and il
they laid infected eggs. In the
total of A fecal cultures made from
the weddings of eight infected birds,
the pullorum germ was recovered
in only one instance, thus indicat:
ing the scarcity of the organism
in the droppings.
''Of the % eggs produced by the
four infected laying turkeys, only
three eggs, all from the same birds
contained the germs, and a later
autopsy confirmed the presence Of
the germ in the ovaries of these
birds. Egg infection, even though
the percentage of infection is very
small, is the initial source of the
infection in poults.
Zone infected poult hatched in q
modern forced draft incubator car
infect large percentage of the
poults which were free from the
disease at the time of hatch.
"Sinilar studies were made or
turkeys that were inoculated with
the pullorum germ when they were
one day old. Blood tests were con-
Quoted on 10 of the poults which
survived the infection. From three
to five months after they were
inoculated, these birds were killed
and their tissues examined for the
presence of the pullorum germ.
'In general, the test tube was
proved more efficient than the
rapid test in detecting infection
in young birds. However, in one
case neither test detected a bird
found by bacterial examination to
be infected.
"Feces from 6 of the inoculated
poults we're examined over a period
of two months, beginning thirteen
days after incubation. The pullor-
UNI germ was recovered from the
feces of each bird, but four times
was the most it was recovered
from the feces of each bird. On
the other hand, the germ was void
ed in the droppings for at least
seven weeks after the poults were
inOcl1lated -