20 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN No. 284 



71. — What dangers are associated with the practice of having eggs 

 hatched away from the premises? The owner who follows this practice 

 subjects his flock to the same hazards as the owner who does custom hatching. 

 In fact it may be a more dangerous practice because he has no control over cus- 

 tomers supplying eggs to the same hatchery. A thorough investigation of the 

 pullorum disease standing of the flocks and the business integrity of the customers 

 should be made to assure the maximum elimination of hazards. However, even 

 with the utmost care, one may introduce infection through this practice. 



72. — If new stock is desired, what kind should be selected? In select- 

 ing new stock, the first consideration is health. Adults, chicks, and eggs should 

 be selected that arc free of infection. Such stock may be obtained from recog- 

 nized pullorum disease-free flocks. 



73. — What is generally regarded as a pullorum disease-free flock? 



A pullorum disease-free flock is a flock in which no reactors were detected by 

 the macroscopic tube agglutination test on two successive tests not less than 

 six months nor more than a year apart. 



74. — Who should be consulted in the purchase of pullorum disease- 

 free stock? Whoever is in the position to give reliable and official testing in- 

 formation regarding the flock, aside from the owner. No flock owner should 

 resent having his statements checked. In Massachusetts, testing information 

 may be obtained from the local county agent. 



75. — Why should buyers check advertisements? Frequently claims in 

 advertisements are incomplete, misleading, and false. The purchase of stock 

 should not be based upon the claims in the advertisement without investigation. 



76. — Do terms such as "tested stock"; "100 per cent clean"; "state 

 tested"; "accredited"; "certified" mean freedom from pullorum disease? 



Such terms are indefinite and misleading in regard to the pullonun disease stand- 

 ing of a flock. The terms "tested stock" and "state tested" do not inform the 

 reader about the particular disease and the results of the test. The term "100 

 per cent clean" does not state the disease in question. In certain states the term 

 "accredited" has been given to flocks designated as "certified" in other states. 

 Considerable confusion has resulted from this. The terms alone do not have 

 any meaning unless one is familiar with the regulations that define these terms 

 and the thoroughness of the execution of the regulations. Therefore, one should 

 Investigate carefully the significance of such indefinite terms. 



77. — Who can assist in determining the validity of the advertisement? 

 In Massachusetts, the county agent is able to assist in checking the validity of 

 claims in advertisements. In other states, either the control or the testing agency 

 should be consulted. 



78. — Are the tested flocks in Massachusetts classified according to 

 their pullorum disease status? Flocks that have qualified for certain breeding 

 and testing requirements are eligible for certification. Flocks are certified for 

 one year only. Copies of testing results of all tested flocks are submitted to the 

 certifying agency by the testing laboratory. The certifying agency operates 

 independently of the testing agency. County agents are provided with testing 

 summaries of flocks in their local counties. 



79. — Where may information concerning certification be obtained? 

 Inquiries concerning certification should be submitted to the Massachusetts 

 Department of Agriculture, State House, Boston, Mass. 



