ANNUAL REPORT. 1940 103 



obtained when the 1939-1941 New England Conference starting mash is 

 used as an all-mash broiler ration. The substitution of 1 percent of liver 

 meal for 1 percent of meat scraps did not improve growth or shank color 

 but gave much better feathering in the pullets. Satisfactory growth but 

 lessened feed efficiency resulted when a partial substitution of fish meal 

 for dried skimmilk was made. When the fish meal ration was supple- 

 mented with 5 percent kelp meal, there was no improvement in feathering, 

 shank color, hemoglobin, erythrocyte count, or taste; and feed efficiency 

 was less. 



DEPARTMENT OF VETERINARY SCIENCE 



J. B. Lentz in Charge 



Poultry Disease Control Service. (H. Van Roekel, K. L. Bullis, O. S. 

 FHnt, and M. K. Clarke.) 



1. Pullorum-Disease Eradication. During the 1939-40 testing season there 

 was a marked increase in the volume of testing over the previous year. 

 Flocks were tested on 366 premises: 340 with chickens only, 6 with both 

 chickens and turkeys, and 20 with turkeys only. A total of 689,377 test^ 

 was made: 680,663 for pullorum disease, 3,312 for fowl typhoid, and 5,479 

 for paratyphoid infection. The numbers of samples collected from chick- 

 ens and fowl other than chickens M'ere 676,611 and 12,776, respectively. 

 Seventy-six reacting birds (66 chickens and 10 turkeys) were necropsied 

 for 40 flock owners. 



Testing service was rendered in 12 counties in whicli 673,222 chicken 

 samples were tested for pullorum disease and only 0.51 percent were 

 positive. No reactors were found among birds tested in 6 counties. All 

 reactors were confined to 5 of the 17 breeds or varieties of fowl tested. 

 Of the total chicken samples tested, 611,099 were from females (78,033 

 hens and 533,066 pullets) and 62,123 from males, among which 0.5 percent 

 and 0.61 percent respectively were positive. The higher percentage of 

 positive tests among males is attributed to the large number of male 

 reactors in one large flock. 



Tests were made of 346 chicken flocks representing 573,000 birds and 

 3,425 reactors were detected, 3,079 of which were found In 2 large flocks. 

 "Breaks" were observed in 6 previously non-reacting flocks, in 4 of which 

 the origin of infection could not be determined. 



Pullorum-disease testing in turkeys has increased from 5,144 tests in 

 1938-39 to 12,771 in 1939-40. Three infected flocks were detected. Turkey 

 growers are becoming more aware of the seriousness of tliis disease 

 among turkeys. 



Pullorum-disease eradication in Massachusetts is making satisfactory 

 progress. During the past year 280 flocks were 100 percent tested with no 

 reactors and represented 460,045 birds. With this volume of pullorum- 

 free breeding stock, Massachusetts is in a positon to replace its poultry 

 population with pullorum-disease-free chicks. 



During the past year this department has continued to cooperate with 

 the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture by making available testing 

 results which are used for official recognition and classification of pul- 

 lorum-tested flocks. 



2. Diagnostic Service. Personal delivery of specimens accounted for 405 

 of the 607 consignments including 3,026 specimens which are classified as 



