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Leucocytozoon sp. from Turkeys in California
268
RESEARCH NOTES
Maryland Experiment Station mash, which was also fed ad libitum. The wheat fed to pen 7 was from the same lot of wheat which was fed during the period when "bluecomb" appeared. The station mash was compounded as follows: STATION M A S H
Pounds 500 300 300 300 100 300 100 50 50 25 20 20 30 10 0.25 2,105.25
The results given in Table 1 reveal that for 11 out of 14 weeks the laying performance of the corn pen was superior to the wheat pen despite the theoretical dietary superiority of the wheat. There was not sufficient mortality to reveal any significance in the difference. The appearance of the corn pen was always better than the wheat pen except on October 16 they seemed equally affected. In the absence of standardized infection and with the number of birds involved, this fact is difficult to interpret. Complete recovery measured in terms of egg production or appearance of the birds did not occur during the 14 weeks the test was continued. In addition, the same lot of wheat was fed ad libitum to a younger lot of pullets including both New Hampshires and Barred Plymouth Rocks but this was commenced after cool weather arrived. This feeding commenced October 10, was continued for 16 weeks, and was totally negative in results. These feeding trials indicate that wheat
GEORGE D.
QUIGLEY
Department of Poultry Husbandry, University of Maryland, College Park, Md. Received for publication March 10, 1943 REFERENCES
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on April 7, 2015
Ground No. 2 yellow corn Pulverized heavy oats Wheat bran Wheat flour middlings Alfalfa leaf meal Soybean oil meal Meat and bone meal Fish meal (St. Dr. Menhaden) ; Dried skimmilk Curbay B-G (80 micrograms riboflavin) A and D feeding oil Oyster shell Defluorinated calcium phosphate Salt MnSO* • 4H 2 0
is probably not the direct cause of bluecomb, but the results do not exclude the possibility that under circumstances not at present fully understood, it may be a contributing factor. It is planned to continue the work. In the absence of success in artificially transmitting the condition in the laboratory, somewhat greater numbers of chickens are to be desired than were used in this preliminary study.
Jungherr, Edwin, 1942. Blue comb or pullet disease. Everybody's Poultry Magazine, Sept., 1942. Beaudette, F. R., 1942. Statement before Maryland Hatchery School, College Park, Maryland, August, 1942. LEUCOCYTOZOON SP. FROM TURKEYS IN CALIFORNIA
Recently, while examining .some blood smears made from turkeys from Tehama County, California, a species of Leucocytozoon was discovered. These smears were made during June, 1938, on four ranches during a field investigation of outbreaks of hexamitiasis. The smears were turned over at the time to a WPA worker who stained and filed them without examination, and without reporting them as unexamined to the writers. Smears from all four ranches showed heavy infections of Leucocytozoon sp., and from two of the ranches, the parasites were found in smears made from both poults and adults. No smears from adults were examined from the other two ranches. This is believed to be the first report of Leucocytozoon in turkeys in Western United States. The infected ranches are all located in the vicinity of the Thomas River in the northern part of the Sacramento Valley,
RESEARCH NOTES
W. R.
HINSHAW
E. M C N E I L
Division of Veterinary Science University of California, Davis Received for publication March IS, 1943 REFERENCES
Johnson, E. P., G. W. Underhill, J. A. Cox, and W. L. Threlkeld, 1938. A blood protozoan of turkeys transmitted by Simulium nigroparvum (Twinn). Amer. Jour. Hygiene 27:649-665. Skidmore, L. V., 1932. Leucocytozoon smithi infection in turkeys by Simulium occidentale (Townsend). Centbl. f. Bakt. I. Orig. 125:329335. FURTHER EVIDENCE OF THE NEED FOR SUPPLEMENTING SOYBEAN MEAL CHICK RATIONS WITH PHOSPHORUS
In recent experimental work on the substitution of soybean meal in chick rations for meat scrap and fish meal, a study was made of the effect upon growth and bone development of omitting supplementary phosphorus from the rations which contained no animal protein feedstuffs.
Two basal rations were fed in this work. Ration 1 was composed of 2 percent yellow corn meal, 25 percent crushed wheat, 10 percent ground oats, 5 percent dehydrated alfalfa meal, 30 percent soybean meal, 0.5 percent B-Y feed, 2 percent pulverized limestone, 0.5 percent iodized salt, plus 100 A.O.A.C. units of vitamin D per 100 grams in the form of activated animal sterol. Ration 2, except for the use of wheat by-products in the place of crushed wheat, was identical with ration 1. Rations 3 and 4 were the same as rations 1 and 2, respectively, except for the inclusion of 2 percent of steamed bone meal in place of an equivalent amount of corn meal. These rations were fed to four different lots of 15 Rhode Island Red cockerel chicks from one day until eight weeks of age. The results of this study, together with the calcium and phosphorus content of all rations, are presented in Table 1. The results show that the omission of supplementary phosphorus from rations 1 and 2 resulted in depressed growth and reduced bone ash notwithstanding the presence in the rations of five times the amount of vitamin D generally accepted to be the minimum quantity required for normal bone development. In spite of the reduced bone ash, no rachitic lameness was observed in the chicks fed these rations. It is possible, however, that lameness would have developed in the chicks if they had been subjected to crowding or other conditions placing strain upon the leg bones. The depressed growth and reduced bone ash of the chicks fed rations 1 and 2 were not caused, it appears, by the lower calcium content of these rations but rather by the nature of the source of phosphorus, since it has been found by other investigators that rations containing from 0.6 percent to 0.75 percent calcium and 0.32 percent to 0.43 percent phosphorus promote approximately normal bone development. The
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on April 7, 2015
and within a radius of 25 miles. The topography of the region indicates that it might be a favorable breeding ground for simuliids, the usual vectors of this hematozoon. Severe losses of unknown causes have been reported from this area for years, and in all probability this parasite has been responsible for at least part of them. Simuliids have not been definitely identified from the infected area, but "black flies" were reported by one rancher as feeding on the turkeys. Investigations on the life history of the parasite, and the epidemiology of this disease in California are under way and the results will be reported later. A comparative study of our slides with ones furnished by Skidmore (1932) from Nebraska, and by Johnson et al. (1938) from Virginia, indicates that the species found in California is the same one reported by them.
269
RESEARCH NOTES
Maryland Experiment Station mash, which was also fed ad libitum. The wheat fed to pen 7 was from the same lot of wheat which was fed during the period when "bluecomb" appeared. The station mash was compounded as follows: STATION M A S H
Pounds 500 300 300 300 100 300 100 50 50 25 20 20 30 10 0.25 2,105.25
The results given in Table 1 reveal that for 11 out of 14 weeks the laying performance of the corn pen was superior to the wheat pen despite the theoretical dietary superiority of the wheat. There was not sufficient mortality to reveal any significance in the difference. The appearance of the corn pen was always better than the wheat pen except on October 16 they seemed equally affected. In the absence of standardized infection and with the number of birds involved, this fact is difficult to interpret. Complete recovery measured in terms of egg production or appearance of the birds did not occur during the 14 weeks the test was continued. In addition, the same lot of wheat was fed ad libitum to a younger lot of pullets including both New Hampshires and Barred Plymouth Rocks but this was commenced after cool weather arrived. This feeding commenced October 10, was continued for 16 weeks, and was totally negative in results. These feeding trials indicate that wheat
GEORGE D.
QUIGLEY
Department of Poultry Husbandry, University of Maryland, College Park, Md. Received for publication March 10, 1943 REFERENCES
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on April 7, 2015
Ground No. 2 yellow corn Pulverized heavy oats Wheat bran Wheat flour middlings Alfalfa leaf meal Soybean oil meal Meat and bone meal Fish meal (St. Dr. Menhaden) ; Dried skimmilk Curbay B-G (80 micrograms riboflavin) A and D feeding oil Oyster shell Defluorinated calcium phosphate Salt MnSO* • 4H 2 0
is probably not the direct cause of bluecomb, but the results do not exclude the possibility that under circumstances not at present fully understood, it may be a contributing factor. It is planned to continue the work. In the absence of success in artificially transmitting the condition in the laboratory, somewhat greater numbers of chickens are to be desired than were used in this preliminary study.
Jungherr, Edwin, 1942. Blue comb or pullet disease. Everybody's Poultry Magazine, Sept., 1942. Beaudette, F. R., 1942. Statement before Maryland Hatchery School, College Park, Maryland, August, 1942. LEUCOCYTOZOON SP. FROM TURKEYS IN CALIFORNIA
Recently, while examining .some blood smears made from turkeys from Tehama County, California, a species of Leucocytozoon was discovered. These smears were made during June, 1938, on four ranches during a field investigation of outbreaks of hexamitiasis. The smears were turned over at the time to a WPA worker who stained and filed them without examination, and without reporting them as unexamined to the writers. Smears from all four ranches showed heavy infections of Leucocytozoon sp., and from two of the ranches, the parasites were found in smears made from both poults and adults. No smears from adults were examined from the other two ranches. This is believed to be the first report of Leucocytozoon in turkeys in Western United States. The infected ranches are all located in the vicinity of the Thomas River in the northern part of the Sacramento Valley,
RESEARCH NOTES
W. R.
HINSHAW
E. M C N E I L
Division of Veterinary Science University of California, Davis Received for publication March IS, 1943 REFERENCES
Johnson, E. P., G. W. Underhill, J. A. Cox, and W. L. Threlkeld, 1938. A blood protozoan of turkeys transmitted by Simulium nigroparvum (Twinn). Amer. Jour. Hygiene 27:649-665. Skidmore, L. V., 1932. Leucocytozoon smithi infection in turkeys by Simulium occidentale (Townsend). Centbl. f. Bakt. I. Orig. 125:329335. FURTHER EVIDENCE OF THE NEED FOR SUPPLEMENTING SOYBEAN MEAL CHICK RATIONS WITH PHOSPHORUS
In recent experimental work on the substitution of soybean meal in chick rations for meat scrap and fish meal, a study was made of the effect upon growth and bone development of omitting supplementary phosphorus from the rations which contained no animal protein feedstuffs.
Two basal rations were fed in this work. Ration 1 was composed of 2 percent yellow corn meal, 25 percent crushed wheat, 10 percent ground oats, 5 percent dehydrated alfalfa meal, 30 percent soybean meal, 0.5 percent B-Y feed, 2 percent pulverized limestone, 0.5 percent iodized salt, plus 100 A.O.A.C. units of vitamin D per 100 grams in the form of activated animal sterol. Ration 2, except for the use of wheat by-products in the place of crushed wheat, was identical with ration 1. Rations 3 and 4 were the same as rations 1 and 2, respectively, except for the inclusion of 2 percent of steamed bone meal in place of an equivalent amount of corn meal. These rations were fed to four different lots of 15 Rhode Island Red cockerel chicks from one day until eight weeks of age. The results of this study, together with the calcium and phosphorus content of all rations, are presented in Table 1. The results show that the omission of supplementary phosphorus from rations 1 and 2 resulted in depressed growth and reduced bone ash notwithstanding the presence in the rations of five times the amount of vitamin D generally accepted to be the minimum quantity required for normal bone development. In spite of the reduced bone ash, no rachitic lameness was observed in the chicks fed these rations. It is possible, however, that lameness would have developed in the chicks if they had been subjected to crowding or other conditions placing strain upon the leg bones. The depressed growth and reduced bone ash of the chicks fed rations 1 and 2 were not caused, it appears, by the lower calcium content of these rations but rather by the nature of the source of phosphorus, since it has been found by other investigators that rations containing from 0.6 percent to 0.75 percent calcium and 0.32 percent to 0.43 percent phosphorus promote approximately normal bone development. The
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on April 7, 2015
and within a radius of 25 miles. The topography of the region indicates that it might be a favorable breeding ground for simuliids, the usual vectors of this hematozoon. Severe losses of unknown causes have been reported from this area for years, and in all probability this parasite has been responsible for at least part of them. Simuliids have not been definitely identified from the infected area, but "black flies" were reported by one rancher as feeding on the turkeys. Investigations on the life history of the parasite, and the epidemiology of this disease in California are under way and the results will be reported later. A comparative study of our slides with ones furnished by Skidmore (1932) from Nebraska, and by Johnson et al. (1938) from Virginia, indicates that the species found in California is the same one reported by them.
269