Hemorrhagic Enteritis in Turkeys

Abstract

INTRODUCTION AN ACUTE hemorrhagic enteritis was found at the autopsy of 35 turkey poults during the months of June, July and August of 1936. The ages of the affected birds varied from 7 to 12 weeks. The specimens originated from widely separated farms in Minnesota. The disease appeared in small flocks consisting of several hundred birds as well as in larger groups containing several thousand or more birds. The size of the flock apparently made no difference as far as the percent of loss was concerned. The mortality averaged approximately 10 percent. Enteritis in poults is not an uncommon condition. Intestinal disorders may be the result of a large variety of factors: protozoan, bacterial, dietary and possibly climatic. The literature relating to enteric conditions is voluminous. A review of same is not included. SYMPTOMATOLOGY In the majority of instances the birds that were examined were found to be well developed . . .