Pin Feathers Research Articles

Some Economic Implications of Thiouracil and Diethylstilbestrol Treatment of Turkeys

INTRODUCTIONAN IMPORTANT objective of poultry science research is to develop means by which turkey meat production may become more profitable. Research findings which are designed to alter the quantity and/or quality of the products of the turkey industry present economic and technical implications to the producer, handler, and consumer.Recent research findings indicate that the use of diethylstilbestrol alone or in combination with thiouracil improves the fleshing and market .grade of turkeys as well as increasing the fat deposition and dressing percentage (Lorenz, 1944; Reineke et al., 1946; Davis and Thayer, 1948; Henderson et al., 1948; Hixson and Thompson, 1951).PROBLEM AND HYPOTHESESTurkeys are usually marketed as soon as they develop the proper fleshing conditions and are free from pin feathers. The use of thiouracil and diethylstilbestrol permits the marketing of turkeys at a much earlier date (lower weight) than non-treated turkeys. Robblee et al. (1951) implied that .

The Use of Thiouracil and Diethylstilbestrol in Finishing Turkeys for Market

TURKEYS are normally marketed as soon as they are “finished.” This condition is determined by fleshing and freedom from pin feathers. According to Hixson and Thompson (1951) growth, finish, and feathering depend upon the amount and quality of the feed consumed. They state further that hot weather is generally considered to be a cause of reduced feed consumption. From these statements, it can be inferred that turkeys of top quality cannot be produced under hot weather conditions.Lorenz (1944) reported that diethylstilbestrol gave a slight improvement in fleshing and freedom from pin feathers in turkeys. Other estrogen compounds have been tried with varying degrees of success (Davis and Thayer, 1948). The use of a combination of thiouracil and diethylstilbestrol for improving finish in chickens was reported by Schnetzler et al. (1945). Andrews and Bohren (1947) found that thiouracil and diethylstilbestrol administered, in combination, to young cockerels improved fleshing and marketing .

Use of Estrogens in Turkey Broiler Production

BROAD breasted bronze turkeys and similar varieties of large size turkeys which are discriminated against at the usual market age because of extreme carcass size can be marketed as turkey broilers or roasters at weights of from four to eight pounds. By marketing these potentially big carcassed birds as broilers or roasters, full advantage can be taken of their inherent ability to make rapid and economical gains during the early growth period. Previous studies on the production of turkey broilers indicate that the dressed carcasses lack fat and finish and are covered with numerous pin feathers (Carter, 1946). Market finish can be improved in 22 and 24 week old turkeys under range conditions by the oral administration of the synthetic estrogen dianisylhexene (Davis and Thayer, 1948). Dianisylhexene administered orally improves the pin feather condition of 21 to 26 week old male turkeys (Davidson, et al., 1946). Ease of picking and .

Frequency of the Tail and Wing Molt in Turkeys

THE rate of feathering and frequency of the molt have been of interest to turkey growers for many years. The condition of the plumage, and especially the number and length of pin feathers at time of marketing, 24 to 30 weeks of age, is directly related to the market grade of the dressed birds. A knowledge of the feather development in the wings and tail enables one to estimate approximately the age of immature turkeys, provided they have had a normal growth.The literature contains very meager information on the molt in turkeys and chickens. Rice, Nixon, and Rogers (1908) reported that the chick experienced four molts, either partial or complete, from the incubator to the laying period. They probably included the shedding of the down as one molt. Marble (1934) reported that early-maturing pullets carried over one or more primary chick feathers throughout the first laying year. Warren and .

Rate of Feathering and Ten-Week Body Weight Observations in Strains Differing in Shank Length

INCREASED competition in the production and marketing of broilers of superior quality is inevitable. To face this competition the most successful producers will have to place well-finished, high quality broilers with an attractive appearance on the market. Birds with “barebacks” and undeveloped feathers are not only unattractive to the live buyer, but dress poorly, giving carcasses with pin feathers and bluish spots.Darrow and Warren (1944) found that the number of visible secondaries at hatching time is a good measure of the degree of feathering at ten days, six weeks, and eight weeks of age. Individual variations in time of hatching had only a slight effect upon the number of secondaries but greatly influenced the length of day-old wing feathers. As early as 1922, Serebrovsky, reported that a sex-linked gene affects the rate of feathering. Warren (1925) confirmed the findings of Serebrovsky and demonstrated that slow-feathering is controlled by a .

Influence of the Early-Feathering Gene upon a Chick’s Growth Rate

There is considerable interest at present in the improvement of heavy breeds of poultry by introducing into their genetic make-up the sex-linked early feathering gene. The chief argument favoring this procedure has been the avoidance of the troublesome “bare-back” male broilers. It has also been suggested that an early feathering chick is much less subject to cannibalistic tendencies of its pen mates than is one carrying pulpy pin feathers to a late age. The data presented in this paper provide an additional reason for making strains of heavy breeds homozygous for the early feathering gene.The data presented in the accompanying table were taken from an experiment designed primarily to study the influence of various diets upon broiler growth. Since all of the four rations fed were relatively adequate, their constitution is of no particular interest here. The chicks used were all from one New Hampshire flock which carried the .

Skin Transplantation as a Means of Analyzing Factors in Production and Growth of Feathers.

In most breeds of fowl there is a well marked sexual dimorphism in the color and structure of adult feathers. Experimental or pathological alteration of the endocrine balance has been shown to produce striking reversals and modifications in these characters. Our problem has been to find a new method of attack which would yield further information on (a) the extent to which the output of a feather follicle is controlled by the endocrine relations which obtain at the time the feather is produced, and (b) the extent to which it is determined by characteristics which are inherent in the follicle itself. The procedure has been to transplant pieces of skin from one newly hatched chick to another and, some months later, to compare the feather production of the donor, the host and the skin originally transferred from the former to the latter. The technique is simple. Young chicks were found to take the anesthetic (ether) very satisfactorily. They recover quickly and do not suffer from infections when moderate care is exercised. The grafts are easily held in place by interrupted silk sutures, which usually fall out spontaneously, but may occasionally remain and serve as good landmarks over a period of several months. The general results obtained thus far may be briefly summarized. 1. The percentage of initial “takes” is high, but many grafts after having become well established are subsequently lost. Such grafts often appear entirely successful at first, and produce normal pin feathers or even fully developed feathers. The cause of these failures has not been studied, but the distribution of cases with reference to sex and breed suggests varying degrees of incompatibility between donor and host. This type of experiment promises to be very favorable for the study of differences in tissue reactions and “individuality differentials.”

Physiology of the “Stick” in the Dry Picking of Poultry

INTRODUCTION Poultry is dressed for market by either the “scald pick” or “dry pick” method. Dry uicking is by far the better method wherever birds are to be held for even a few days. The advantages of dry picking are: first, the birds present a much better appearance than when scald-picked; second, it is the most sanitary method; third, and most important, the birds will keep much better than when scaled picked because the delicate cuticle that covers the skin and prevent the invasion of putrefactive bacteria is not injured by dry picking as it is by scalding. The disadvantage of dry picking that prevents its. universal use is that it is a slightly more expensive method than scald picking. The chief reason being that when scalding is practiced, the pin feathers which remain after the bird is rough picked may be rubbed off by the hand, while when dry . . .