Broiler chicks grown on litter or in cages at high bird density developed skin lesions on the thigh and hip. Changes in bird denisty markedly influenced lesion incidence (100% at 0.0185 sq m of floor space per bird). The dermatitis was characterized by crusted dry "scabs" at the base of feather follicles and between follicles. The lesions often coalesced to cover wide areas. The scab consisted of a mass of pyknotic nuclei and cellular debris, and when the epidermis was intact there was little inflammatory reaction in the dermis or subcutaneous tissue. The epidermis was destroyed in some lesions, with heterophils penetrating into the subcutaneous tissue. Colonies of gram-positive cocci were present in the lesions.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Effect of humidity on infection of turkeys with Alcaligenes faecalis.

Turkeys maintained at 75% to 80% relative humidity were more adversely affected by Alcaligenes faecalis infection than turkeys maintained at 20 to 35% relative humidity. Alcaligenes faecalis was reisolated earlier and more often from turkeys maintained at the higher humidity. Clinically, the turkeys maintained at high humidity exhibited both sinusitis and conjunctivitis earlier than the turkeys at low humidity. In both groups, antibody titers as determined by a microagglutination test developed by 2 weeks postinoculation and started to decline after the third week, lymphocytosis was demonstrated at 1 week postinoculation, and a lymphopenia developed at 5 weeks postinoculation.

Agglutination Tests↗