In March 1978, a number of turkeys with severe respiratory symptoms affecting over 80% of the flock were investigated for a possible causative agent. With the standard techniques used for the isolation of bacteriae, mycoplasmae and viruses, only Mycoplasma gallisepticum, Mycoplasma meleagridis and Newcastle disease virus were isolated. Tracheal organ cultures were subsequently prepared from 27-...

Tibial dyschondroplasia (TD) is a prevalent skeletal abnormality associated with rapid growth rate in many avian species; it causes enormous economic losses and is an animal welfare problem. Tibial dyschondroplasia is characterized by the presence of a nonvascularized, nonmineralized lesion that extends from the epiphyseal growth plate into the metaphysis of the proximal tibiotarsal bones. The ...

Random regression (RR) analysis has been recommended to estimate the genetic parameters of longitudinal data. The objective of this study was to evaluate the growth of turkeys using RR models. Data were collected from 957 turkeys and included 15,478 individual body weight recorded during the first week of life and between weeks 2 and 32 by 2-week intervals. To take into account the repeated mea...

Late Preclassic (300 BC-AD 100) turkey remains identified at the archaeological site of El Mirador (Petén, Guatemala) represent the earliest evidence of the Mexican turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) in the ancient Maya world. Archaeological, zooarchaeological, and ancient DNA evidence combine to confirm the identification and context. The natural pre-Hispanic range of the Mexican turkey does not ext...

There have been relatively few lysine requirement studies that have covered the full productive life of commercial toms (0 to 20 wk). Lysine is the reference amino acid for Ideal Protein ratios and accurately defining the requirement reduces fractional errors in the corresponding ideal protein ratios. A series of studies were conduct to determine the lysine concentrations (total and digestible)...

Two randomized block experiments were conducted to determine the effects of litter moisture and age on the development of foot pad dermatitis (FPD) in female growing turkeys. Pens were littered with fresh wood shavings at the start of the experiments and excreta and soiled litter were replaced twice daily to maintain clean litter. In experiment 1 the birds (n = 5/pen) were subjected to increasi...

Thirteen lectins were used to characterize lectin-binding specificity of glycoconjugates on sections of formalin-fixed lung and trachea from seven normal turkeys, two turkeys with acute pneumonia, and two turkeys with chronic pneumonia. Neuraminidase was used to digest sialic acid residues. One N-acetylgalactosamine-binding lectin and two N-acetylgalactosamine/galactose-binding lectins stained ...

BACKGROUND DNA vaccination has been shown to elicit specific cellular and humoral immune responses to many different agents in a broad variety of species. However, looking at a commercial use, the duration of the immune response against the vaccine is critical. Therefore the persistence of the DNA vaccine, as well as its expression, should be investigated. We conducted these investigations on a...

The objectives of this study were to identify and quantitate the germ cell populations of the testes in sexually mature male turkeys (Trial 1), determine the duration of meiosis based on BrdU labeling and stereological analyses (Trial 2), and examine the impact of various photoperiods on germinal and somatic cell populations in immature and adult males (Trial 3). In Trial 1, both testes within ...

Bordetella hinzii is commonly acquired from the respiratory tract of diseased poultry but is generally regarded as nonpathogenic in avian hosts because attempts to demonstrate disease following experimental infection of chickens and turkeys have failed. Recently, with the availability of highly specific DNA-based methods for identification of this agent, it was recognized that some isolates use...