The Effect of Thyroprotein, Thiouracil and Cortisone on the Feather Pigmentation of Turkey Poults

Abstract

ABSTRACT TURKEY poults (Fritz et al., 1946), chickens (Klain et al., 1957) and rats (Vohra and Kratzer, 1956) have been shown to exhibit achromatosis when fed a lysine deficient diet. The melanin pigments of adult Brown Leghorn feathers are very sensitive to the administration of estrogen and the thyroid hormone (Trinkaus, 1953) but the estrogen effect is not manifested in thyroidectomized adult birds (Blivaiss, 1947 a,b). Estrogen administration, thyroidectomy or the administration of thyroxine is without effect on the juvenile flight and tail feathers of chicks (Trinkaus, 1950). Feeding thiouracil has been reported to cause the same changes as thyroidectomy in chickens (Juhn, 1946). In rats which were made gray by being fed a pantothenic acid deficient diet, adrenalectomy caused a transitory improvement in coat pigmentation (Ralli and Graef, 1943) while the injections of desoxycorticosterone acetate, following adrenalectomy, inhibited pigmentation (Ralli and Graef, 1945). The administration of cortisone resulted in the . . .