PULLORUM DISEASE 13 



31. — Do infected chicks mature normally? hi severe outbreaks the nor- 

 mal development is markedly affected, as shown by a lack of uniformity of growth 

 anil underdevelopment of birds. 



Photograph 12. — Six-weeks-old Chicks Exposed to Pulloruni Infection When 12 Hours Old 

 Weights: No. 1, 115 grams; No. 2, 488 grams; No. i, 193 grams. 

 Pullorum disease has an influence on the rate, uniformity, and amount of growth. 



Refer to question 31. 



32. — Does the presence of the disease affect the salability of eggs 

 and stock? Yes. The public has been and is being educated to buy only pullo- 

 rum disease-free stock. A buyer who has had the unfortunate experience of 

 buying and losing infected chicks will avoid repeating that experience if at all 

 possible. A poultryman who has spent several years in developing a pullorum 

 disease-free flock of good breeding, and then unthinkingly or unknowingly in- 

 troduces infection, will suffer a great loss not only through the cost of eradicating 

 the disease, but also from reduced sales. 



Control and Eradication of the Disease 

 33. — Can the disease be eliminated by culling birds that lack vigor 

 and vitality? No. "Carriers" of the disease are not always the poorest individ- 

 uals in the flock. Apparently normal, well-developed birds may be infected with 

 the disease. 



34. — Is incubator disinfection effective in eradicating the disease? 

 Incubator disinfection, while partially effective in decreasing the spread of the 

 disease in the incubator, should not be encouraged as a means of controlling or 

 eradicating the disease because it is unable to destroy the organisms in the live 

 chick. Infected live chicks are spreaders of the disease, and complete control 

 or eradication requires the elimination of the spreader. Therefore, poultrymen 

 who have outlined an incubator disinfecting program with the intention of 

 eradicating this disease, can expect but one result, which is failure in eradication. 



