Abstract
1. White blood cell responses of broilers, turkeys and ducks were examined at regular intervals after being subjected to various degrees of food restriction. 2. Restricted-fed broilers showed increases in heterophil and basophil numbers, together with a corresponding decrease in lymphocytes. The heterophil/lymphocyte ratio was raised. There were no differences between broiler strains. 3. After only one week of feeding restricted diets, heterophils were significantly raised in selected and unselected 2-week-old ducks. At 21 weeks of age, those ducks receiving 50% of food required to achieve their ad libitum-fed body weight had raised heterophils. 4. Ducks receiving food to achieve 25% of ad libitum-fed birds produced a marked basophilia, but no heterophilia. 5. After two weeks of food restriction, turkeys responded with significant heterophil/lymphocyte ratios following two degrees of restricted feeding. 6. It was concluded that in some poultry, a heterophilia may be the response to mild to moderate stress but a basophilia may result after severely stressing birds.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 177-87 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | British Poultry Science |
Volume | 33 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Mar 1992 |
Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)
- Animals
- Body Weight
- Chickens/blood
- Chickens/immunology
- Ducks/blood
- Ducks/immunology
- Female
- Food Deprivation/physiology
- Leukocyte Count/veterinary
- Leukocytes/cytology
- Male
- Turkeys/blood
- Turkeys/immunology