Cl6*Lancastor Farming, Saturday, May 8, 1993
COLLEGE PARK. Md.
Springtime is flu season for all
sorts of poultry youngsters, in
cluding chicks, poults, ducklings,
goslings, and keets (baby guinea
fowl). Like newborns of almost
any species, poultry peeps have
not been exposed to a wide range
of viruses and other disease-caus
ing organisms.
. So they have not had opportuni
ty to build up antibodies that per
mit resistance to maladies like
avian influenza a disease that
can prove fatal to poultry but is
not (nnsmissable to humans.
Even low-level infections to
which older birds are immune can
cause problems for poultry young
sters, according to Edward T.
Mallinson, poultry veterinarian
for the Cooperative Extension
Service, Maryland Institute for
Agriculture and Natural Resourc
es. Mallinson is a faculty member
at the College Park campus of the
Virginia-Maryland Regional Col
lege of Veterinary Medicine.
Mallinson notes that the big
avian influenza outbreak during
the winter of 1983-1984 in Penn
sylvania actually got started in the
spring of 1983, when the disease
was thought to be active in young
waterfowl and/or seabirds.
There also was an avian influ
enza scare for the poultry industry
in the Mid-Atlantic area this past
winter. And even though no cases
were confirmed in commercial
poultry flocks, Mallinson believes
that a reservoir of HSN2 virus in
fection exists, especially in the
network of small flocks and live
poultry auction markets through
out the Northeast This emphasiz
es the continuing need for vigilant
attention to biosecurity measures.
Wild waterfowl hatchlings have
been known to infect range-reared
domestic turkey flocks with the
avian influenza virus, and they
could infect other types of poultry
allowed to tun free. So poultry
producers are advised to check
hiding places for wild waterfowl
nests. These hiding places could
be under bushes near farm dwell
ings and other buildings, includ
ing poultry houses.
Other sources of infection in-
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Young Poultry Need Health Protection
elude:
• Free-ranging poultry wander
ing to neighboring farms. Such
birds might also be killed by pre
dators and their carcasses dragged
to someone else’s property.
• Contact with the live auction
market network.
Most large commercial poultry
flocks are kept in confinement
these days, largely as a health
measure. And Mallinson empha
sizes that confinement also can
help prevent the spread of disease
among small flocks.
A four-page leaflet, “Home
made Comfort Cages for Small
LINCOLN. Neb. While
temperatures dip and blustery
Midwest wintertime winds roar
across the plains, NC+ Hybrids re
searchers are in the topics tending
to NC+ com and grain sorghum
research plots.
But it’s no vacation.
The researchers’ work is geared
to providing NC+ customers with
new hybrids faster, according to
NC+ Corn Research Division
Manager Lonnie Hester.
“Our winter com research pro
gram cuts the number of years it
takes to develop a hybrid by about
one third,” Hester said. “We’re
benefltting our customers by using
the winter programs to speed up
hybrid development.”
Along with accelerated hybrid
development, the winter research
programs allow NC+ researchers
to cross and evaluate thousands of
new experimental hybrids, create
new genetic material and monitor
quality control. It also lets re
searchers create breeding mater
ials that are difficult to raise in a
Midwestern summer and allows
for off-season seed increases.
This past winter’s NC+ com re
search program compensated for
test pilots hailed out last summer,
according to Duane Potrzeba,
NC+ com breeder. The program is
held on the Hawaiian island of
Molokai.
“We had about 35 percent more
work to do this past winter due to
Poultry Flocks" (FS 429), is avail
able free from offices of the co
operative extension service
throughout Maryland and Dela
ware. Some feed stores in the Del
marva area also have it available.
Other biosecurity measures in
clude:
• Keep various poultry species
separate. Guinea fowl, for in
stance, may be more susceptible to
certain strains of avian influenza
than are chickens. Don’t take
chances with a menagerie, which
can favor development of new,
potentially dangerous virus muta
tions.
NC+
Customers Benefit From Research
the lost material,” Potrzeba said.
“But we ended up even better than
we had anticipated. We’re fortun
ate that we can keep the flow of
research going that well.”
Five NC+ researchers and tech
nicians develop about 1,400 hy
brids and put 100 hybrids through
advanced testing on about four
acres. A service company plants
the seed during the middle of No
vember and handles any disease,
insect or weed problems.
Potrzeba said the program’s
goal is to advance hybrids quickly.
“We’re not trying to adapt hy
brids to a tropical environment,”
he said. “The main reason'we do it
is so we can make up seed in the
winter and test it in the summer.”
NCi- Hybrids has the largest
sorghum winter research program
of any commercial seed company,
according to Jim Osborne, NC+
sorghum research manager. The
program uses 29 leased acres in
Puerto Rico and has access to
acreage in Puerto Vallarta, Mexi
co.
The recent addition of the Puer
to Vallarta testing site increases
NC+’s winter sorghum research
program by about 40 percent.
“That increase shows the inten
sity of our sorghum program and
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• Purchase healthy chicks from
a reputable source. The “1993
Small Flock Source List” is avail
able free from county extension
offices in Maryland and the Del
marva area.
Charles J. Wabeck, extension
poultry specialist at the Princess
Anne facility of the Lower Eastern
Shore Research and Education
Center, notes that hatcheries in the
“Small Flock Source List” are
those that meet rigid criteria estab
lished by the National Poultry Im
provement Plan of the U.S. De
partment of Agriculture.
the commitment that NC+ has
made to the development of better
sorghum hybrids,” Osborne said.
“We intend to be the U.S. industry
leader.”
NC+ has been using the Puerto
Rico site since 1971. The com
pany takes four full-time em
ployees to the island to handle pol
lination and harvest. In addition,
about 10 local people are hired.
The sprinkler-irrigated sor
ghum is planted in late November.
Pollinating starts in early January
Million-Gallon Milestone
WAYNE. N.J. American
Cyanamid Company and some of
its key AgriCenter™ dealers cele
brated the one millionth-gallon of
Cyanamid product sold in the
Mid-South region in System 110™
mini-bulk containers, it was
announced by the company here.
This milestone represents the
elimination of the need for more
than 400,000 2.5-gallon contain
ers. thus providing a significant
benefit to the environment.
Cyanamid developed the Sys
tem 110 mini-bulk container to
better address the needs of the
growers and the environment The
system 110 holds 110 gallons of
Wabeck agrees that buying
chicks from approved hatcheries
will not guarantee disease-free
flocks. But the potential for poul
try disease problems is greatly re
duced.
Both Wabeck and Mallinson
admonish small flock owners that
this is no time to be complacent
about avian influenza and other
serious poultry diseases, despite
recent easing of restrictions on
poultry shows and live poultry
auction markets.
“Caution is still, and always
will be, the watchword for poultry
health,” Mallinson said.
and the sorghum is harvested in
early to mid-March. After harvest,
the sorghum is threshed, cleaned,
packaged and sent back to Col
wich, Kan. and Hastings, Neb. for
spring planting trials.
Osborne said he prefers to do
winter sorghum research in Puerto
Rico because of the quick growing
season.
“When we work in Puerto Rico
we harvest the plots two to three
weeks earlier than other places,"
he said.
liquid herbicide and can be
returned for refilling. These
replace the 2.5-gallon containers,
which cannot be refilled, and
therefore need to be disposed of or
recycled.
Cyanamid herbicides available
in the System 110 mini-bulk
include PROWL®. SQUAD
RON®, TRI-4®, and TRI
SCEPT®.
Various dealerships, grain com
panies, and trade media attended
the event, marked by a series bf
presentations on Cyanamid’s bulk
packaging and environmental
programs.
Robert B. McSparran
President