J _ V . —   . —-LA.
  ‘ClRCULAR NO. 7. .    
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_ BLACKHEAD IN TURKEYS.   ’ ’;  
BY RoBER·1· GRAHAM AND LQ R. HIMMELBERGER.  
‘ Occurrence.  
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Observations and autopsies performed on turkeys have lgf*;;g_ ·——-  
demonstrated the existence of blackhead in several flocks in j;V;.;[g.Q..g
Kentucky. It has occurred in poults, accompanied by per- ‘  
sistent diarrhea, without the development of the dark _  
. discoloration of the head, which no doubt is responsible for  
A many turkey raisers failing to recognize the disease. The  
inroads of blackhead have diminished many Hocks and com- i  
pletely obliterated the turkey prospects on some farms. In _  
fact adversities in raising poults to maturity have seriously  
crippled the turkey industry of the State. A loss of 50 to  
75 per cent of young flocks has frequently occurred.  
Professor J. J. Hooper of the State University said: "The  
turkey industry has decreased 30 per cent during the past  
twenty-five years and everything indicates that this unfor-  
tunate condition is due to the fatality among young birds .  
caused by b1ackhead."  
A variation of popular opinion prevails as to the cause of  
loss in young turkeys, but the fact remains that alarge .  
number of poultry raisers experience a heavy death rate in `  
their flocks. Blackhead is by no means confined to Ken-  
tucky. The existence of this disease has demoralized the  
. turkey industry in many localities in the Eastern States; in    
fact the suppression and control of this disease is one of the  
. · 
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