—Lancaster Farming, Friday, March 30, 1956
12
Turkey Poult from Unfertilized Egg
Hatched at USDA Research Center
WASHINGTON (USDA)
A tofccy poult, hatched from an
unfertilized egg on March 10, is
creating a new chapter in poul
try .history at' USDA’s Agricul
tural’Research Center at Belts
,yilie> Md The poult is the first
of known parthenogenetic origin
to hatch and live for more than
a few hours
Dr. Marlow W. Olsen and S
J. Marsden, ARS poultry hus
bandmen, discovered partheno
genesis in turkey eggs four years
ago The most serious problems
.facing the turkey industry are
fertility and hatchability of eggs
The discovery of parthenogene
sis has 'given research workers a
new and Important tool with
which tb investigate these prob
lems.
13,000 Eggs Tested
1 In continuing investigations of
fl*e phenomenon, Dr Olsen in
the ISSt three years has placed
"moni thah 13,000 infertile eggs
(Dr. Olsen is
'OneMsfvPine American scientists
who received the Bor
den award of $l,OOO and a gold
medal. His award cited his
achievements in the investiga
tions of parthenogenesis and
..several other fields of poultry
research.)*. , y
In ,the experiments at Belts
ville, a large number of em
bryos have formed, but only a
few- developed to final stages
before dying in the shell, and
only four have pipped their
'shells and hatched alive Of
(these, one bird hatched two
years ago from among 5,000 in
fertile eggs lived for 18 hours
Three . parthenogenetic birds
have been hatched in experi
ments this year with some 3,000
infertile eggs Of the three, one
V * *
Accidently Discovered
Dr. Olsen finds this parthenogentic turkey poult weak
arid underweight when 4 1-2 days old. Dr. Olsen and his
associates hope to raise the poult to maturity. If they suc
ceed, the turkey will be used as a breeder to test against
normal breeders to determine the incidence of partho
gensis and whether it is hereditary (USDA‘ Photo).
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lived 8 hours, the second only 5
hours The third still > was alive
(March 22) after 12 days.
May JBe Used As Breeder
The scientists hope to’ grow
the 1 poult to maturity so that
it can "be used as a breeder to
test, against normal breeders,
the incidence of the phenomen
on and whether it is hereditary.
Parthenogenesis is a natural
function in many lower forms of
life such as bees and aphids. It
has been induced in eggs of
such animal organisms as star
fish, sea urchins, and frogs, but
until Dr. Olsen’s and Mr. Mars
den’s discovery, it had never
been known to occur in higher
animals.
Discovery came through in
cubation of turkey eggs to make
certain that turkey hens to be
used later in a fertility test
were not then producing fertile
eggs The hens were to be mated
with male birds in moult to de
termine the effects of moult on
fertility and hatchabihty. Ap
proximately 20 percent of these
eggs showed development long
after' ordinary fertility could
possibly have existed.
Only Males Can Be Produced
Dr Olsen suspected partheno
genesis and began tests to prove
his point These incubation tests
were conducted with eggs pro
duced by unmated females held
under lock and key, without pos
sible physical contact with male
birds
In reply to the inevitable ques
tion, “Is there any chance that
males could get into the female
pens during these tests?”, Dr
Olsen points to three significant
facts First, during the test
periods he assumed full respon-
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> 4
Dr. Harlow V. Olsen, poultry scientist
of the U. S. Department of Agriculture,
feeds a turkey poult, hatched from an un
fertilized egg at the Agricultural Research
Center, Beltsville, Md. The poult is the
first of known parthenogentic origin to
hatch and live more than a few hours. Dr.
sibility for control of the birds,
gathering eggs and placing them
in incubation. Second, he found
that parthenogenetic embryos
are always delayed three or four
days in starting development.
Thus the hatching- period, nor
mally about 27 days for Belts
ville Small White turkeys, is
extended to 30 days or more in
rhe case of parthenogenetic em
bryos. Third, he found that all
embiyos developing far enough
tor identification have been
males. In birds the sex chromo
somes are such that it is prob
able only males can be produced
parthenogenetically
Slower Rate Of Gain
'BelUville’s newest and only
living example of parthenogene
fcic origin required 30 days to
hatch He weighed 30 grams (28
grams equal 1 ounce) at hatching
against 45 to 50 grams for a
normal! pout He now weighs
about 45 grams, 'indicating a
jmuch slower rate of gam than
Long Bow and
Arrow Legal in
Taking Carp
HARRISBURG, Pa The
long bow and arrow is now a
legal device for taking carp m
Pennsylvania. The announce
ment was made by William
Voigt, Jr, Executive Director
of the Pennsylvania Fish Com
nission
The signature of Governor
George Leader to the “Archery-
Carp” Bill amends Section 50,
clause (d) of the Fish Code by
iddmg “Nothing in this sec
tion shall prohibit the use of
long bows and arrows tor taking
or killing carp.”
The bill had the support of
the Pennsylvania Federation of
Sportmen’s Clubs. Its enactment
provides an additional means of
recreation. It is also looked upon
as a possible means of helping
in the control of a species of
fish that is not a totally desir
able tenant of many of the Com
monwealth’s waters With the
passage of the bill, Pennsylvania
became the' 25th State to
legalize taking carp a-la-Robm
Hood.
In addition to explaining that
a fishing license is required to
engage in the sport, Voigt
cautioned that the March 14—
April 15 fishing ban on waters
of the State stocked with trout
extends to bow and arrow fish
ings
, Parthenogenetic Poult
is expected of a normal poult’
This is in spite of the fact that
Dr. Olsen is feeding his charge
meals of crumbled hard-boiled
egg yolk and cottage cheese 4 to
5 times a day, plus special vita
mins and minerals.
Dr. Olsen believes incidence
of parthenogenesis may be
greatest in domesticated birds
that are not long removed from
the wild. He has found a rela
tively high incidence in the
Beltsville Small White breed de-
New Chapter in History
This turkey poult is the survivor of three,
hatched from unfertilized eggs at the USD A Research
Center, Beltsville, Md. Dr. Olsen and S. J. Marzden, poultry
scientists, accidently discovered parthenogensis in tur
keys four years ago, while incubating eggs to ascertain
that turkey hens to be used later in a fertility test were
not then producing fertile eggs. In continuing investiga
tions of the phenomenon, Dr. Olsen has assured that the
tests were conducted with eggs produced by unmated fe
males held under lock and key and without possible physi
cal contact with male birds. (USDA Photo).
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Olsen is one of nine American scientists
who recently received the Borden award
of $l,OOO and a gold medal. His award
cites his achievements in investigation of
parthenogenesis and other aspects of poul
try fertility. (USDA Photo).
vcloped a few years ago' 1 at
Bdltsville and having some wild
turkey blood in its ancestry
Other breeds of turkeys show
the condition but to a lesser
degree Save for a slight inci
dence in the eggs of Cornish
breeds of chickens, among the
closest of all' domesticated chic
kens to wild ancestors, func
tional parthenogenesis is not
known to develop in eggs of
other breeds of domestic chic
kens
* 1=
Consult Us For The Best
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