Body weight, livability, and feed conversion of a randombred control turkey line (RBC2) started in 1966 at The Ohio State University was compared with that of modern commercial turkeys hatched in 2003 when fed representative 1966- and 2003-type diets from hatch (March 5, 2003) through 196 d of age. Each pen of modern turkeys consisted of 5 birds each of the Nicholas, British United Turkeys of A...

In 1998, a novel H3N2 reassortant virus emerged in the United States swine population. We report the interspecies transmission of this virus to turkeys in two geographically distant farms in the United States in 2003. This event is of concern, considering the reassortment capacity of this virus and the susceptibility of turkey to infection by avian influenza viruses. Two H3N2 isolates, A/turkey...

Subgroup A avian metapneumoviruses lacking either the SH or G gene or the M2-2 open reading frame were generated by using a reverse-genetics approach. The growth properties of these viruses were studied in vitro and in vivo in their natural host. Deletion of the SH gene alone resulted in the generation of a syncytial-plaque phenotype and this was reversed by the introduction of the SH gene from...

The pathology induced in turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) by two capillariid nematodes, Baruscapillaria obsignata and Eucoleus annulatus is described together with data on prevalences, mean infection and range of worm burdens. B. obsignata occurred with a prevalence of 72.5% in the 40 examined hosts in a range of 2-461 nematodes and a mean intensity of 68.6, whereas E. annulatus was present in 2.5...

Megapodes are unusual galliform birds that use passive heat sources to incubate their eggs. Evolutionary relationships of extant megapode taxa have become clearer with the advent of molecular analyses, but the systematics of large, extinct forms (Progura gallinacea, Progura naracoortensis) from the late Cenozoic of Australia has been a source of confusion. It was recently suggested that the two...

The article describes epidemiological diseases of animals, in particular smallpox birds. disease turkeys, such as turkey pox, its spread, transmission, signs and treatments are revealed. In our country, animals mostly bred rural areas. quality ecological purity their products is better than that grown specialized farms poultry farms. Since, areas, local traditional methods used to treat livesto...

An extensive study of the comparative osteology of turkeys (Aves: Meleagrididae) confirms the validity of the extinct California Turkey, Meleagris californica. The study included all major and many minor skeletal elements of adult specimens of M. californica, best known from the asphalt deposits at Rancho La Brea, California, and both species of extant turkeys: Meleagris gallopavo and Meleagris...

The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of different dietary fruit pomaces in reducing lipid oxidation in the meat of turkeys fed diets with a high content of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). Over a period of 4 weeks before slaughter, turkeys were fed diets with the addition of 5% dried apple, blackcurrant, strawberry and seedless strawberry pomaces (groups AP, BP, SP and SS...

The effects of ambient temperature (T; 18 vs. 28 degrees C), dietary energy level [E; 90, 100, and 110% of NRC (1994) recommendations], and dietary lysine level [LYS; 105 vs. 120% of NRC (1994) recommendations], and their interactions on feed intake, BW gain, feed:gain ratio, and carcass yields of male turkeys were studied from 29 to 140 d of age. The experiment was designed as a split plot, in...

In the United States, turkey production contributes approximately $14.4 billion to the US economy; however, the number of reagents specifically developed to study the immune system of this economically important species is limited. To compensate for this, laboratories focused on the turkey system have each empirically tested various chicken-specific reagents for cross-reactivity with turkeys. T...