Studies on the use of a long-acting oxytetracycline in turkeys: serum levels and tissue residues following injection.

Forty 6-week-old large white commercial turkeys were injected subcutaneously with a long-acting oxytetracycline formulation (69 mg/lb). The turkeys were divided into four groups of 10 birds each, and the birds in each group were bled twice at different times between 4 and 144 hours postinjection (PI) to determine serum levels of oxytetracycline. Two additional groups of turkeys were also given the long-acting oxytetracycline formulation mixed with either neomycin or a bacterin for Pasteurella multocida to determine if either of these compounds interfered with absorption of the oxytetracycline. Serum levels of oxytetracycline were 5.38 micrograms/ml, 1.59 microgram/ml, and 0.93 microgram/ml at 24, 48, and 72 hours PI, respectively, following an average dose of 69 mg/lb of body weight. These levels are all considered therapeutic. There appeared to be no interference with absorption of oxytetracycline when mixed with either neomycin or the bacterin. Tissue residues of oxytetracycline in the muscle, liver, and kidney were within tolerance levels by 3 weeks PI.