No abstract

Four major types of surface conformation were observed in the ceca of uninoculated control chickens. Spatulate villi were found in the cecal neck region, low ridges in the region where the neck expands, protruding collarlike structures in the mid cecal pouch, and flattened collars in the distal portion. In ceca infected with Eimeria tenella, there was some erosion and sloughing of the mucosal cells. These lesions were slight in the neck region, more severe in the dilated portion, most severe in the midregion, and moderate in the distal area. Oocysts were observed in the mucosal tissue of the cecal pouch.

No abstract

Chickens dying from Eimeria tenella infection revealed four major physiological stresses before death: (1) hypothermia, (2) depletion of carbohydrate stores, (3) metabolic acidosis, and (4) renal tubule-cell dysfunction. These stresses were less pronounced in chickens surviving the infection. Similar stresses could not be demonstrated in pair-feeding trials, in which uninfected chickens were fed only the amount consumed by infected chickens. Prolonged starvation of uninfected chickens only slightly altered the indicators used in assessing the stresses. The variability of previously reported plasma glucose values, in part, may be due to whether the birds tested were those on the verge of death or those that, ultimately, would survive the infection.

Young turkey poults fed graded levels of aflatoxin (0, 125, 250, and 500 microgram/kg) from hatching for 3 weeks displayed altered hemostasis, manifested in prolonged prothrombin times at 2 and 3 weeks of age. Body weights were only affected in those groups receiving 500 microgram/kg. Total plasma protein, fibrinogen, and plasma calcium were reduced in response to dietary aflatoxin. In comparison with chickens, which exhibit similar hemostatic dysfunction concomitant with reduced body weight, turkeys receiving aflatoxin at lower levels exhibited an altered hemostatic response without exhibiting depressed body weights. Thus, the turkey hemostatic system is a better indicator of aflatoxicosis than is body weight gain.