Nesidioblastosis in a simmental calf.

A 2-day-old Simmental calf with arthrogryposis and astasia was subjected to necropsy examination. The calf was normoglycaemic and normoinsulinaemic. Microscopically, pancreatic tissue was hyperplastic with an irregular lobular arrangement of pancreatic islets. Newly-formed islet cells budded from intralobular or intercalated ducts (so-called ductulo-insular complexes) and there were prominent blood vessels with telangiectatic features surrounded by rows of cuboidal-columnar islet cells. The newly-formed islets expressed insulin antigen immunohistochemically. The lesion was diagnosed as nesidioblastosis, an uncommon abnormality previously associated with the double muscling trait in cattle.

Tonic immobility reaction and heterophil to lymphocyte ratio in hens from three Spanish breeds laying pink eggshells.

Tonic immobility reaction and heterophil:lymphocyte ratio were studied in hens laying pink eggs from three brown egg Spanish breeds (Barred Red Vasca, Red Vasca, Red Villafranquina). There was no significant difference among breeds in terms of tonic immobility duration or heterophil:lymphocyte ratio. Tonic immobility duration was significantly shorter in the pink (220 + or - 23 s) than in the normal brown shell group of hens (416 + or - 23 s; P < 0.001). Differences were consistent across the breeds, tonic immobility of hens laying pink eggs being shorter than that of control hens in all three breeds. Birds of the group with pink shells appeared to be less fearful when defined by either the duration of tonic immobility or the number of inductions to achieve it. There was a significant difference in the heterophil:lymphocyte ratio between the two groups of hens (P < 0.001), mean value being significantly higher in the pink shell (0.73 + or - 0.03) than in the control group (0.35 + or - 0.03). The heterophil:lymphocyte ratio from the pink shell hens increased significantly in the three breeds. Hens that laid pink eggs had significant heterophilia and lymphopenia (P < 0.001). Thus, hens laying pink eggs were less fearful and more stressed than control hens, as indicated by the tonic immobility reaction and the heterophil:lymphocyte ratio, respectively. A significant negative correlation was found between both measurements (r = A).28; P < 0.01). A similar significant negative association (P < 0.001) was found between pink shell color and shell strength.

Range and confinement rearing of four genetic lines of turkeys. 2. Effects on behavior and tonic immobility.

An experiment was conducted to determine the effect of range and confinement rearing on behavior and tonic immobility of four genetic lines of turkeys. Lines of turkeys utilized were selected for increased body weight, or increased shank diameter, or were randombred control lines developed in 1966 and 1986. Birds from the four lines were brooded lines and sexes intermingled to 8 wk of age in confinement. At that time, half the birds from each full-sib family were moved to a large range pen and the remaining birds were moved to a large confinement pen. Selection for increased body weight has resulted in an increased number of eating bouts, decreased duration of walking bouts, and greater fear response (as measured by tonic immobility inductions and duration). Rearing environment affected drinking, eating, and resting behavior. Range-reared birds had fewer drinking bouts of increased duration, and longer eating and resting bouts than did their confinement-reared contemporaries. There were no line by environment interactions, indicating that the four lines responded similarly in both rearing environments.