Thermal Stress Effects on Certain Blood Characteristics of Adult Male Turkeys

THERMAL effects upon certain blood characteristics of fowl have not been dealt with to any great extent. Griminger et at. (1965) noted that a hot environment (32°C.) caused a slower clotting of blood in chickens and was possibly due to a decreased vitamin K intake brought about by decreased feed consumption. Huston (1965) and Gee and Huston (1965) found that the hematocrits of chickens at an ambient temperature of 30°C. were significantly lower than those of birds grown in cooler environments, and that birds held in cooler environments had higher erythrocyte concentrations. They also observed that deprivation of water raised the hematocrit of birds. Wels (1966) noticed that in cockerels, the red blood cell count, hemoglobin, and hematocrit values rose 13 to 15% when the birds were deprived of water. Subaschandran and Balloun (1967) reported that hemoglobin and hematocrit levels were significantly lower and hemodilution occurred in heat-stressed chickens as…