Feed refusal during ochratoxicosis in turkeys.

Previous observations of feed refusal associated with apparent field outbreaks of ochratoxicosis in turkeys but not in chickens suggested that these species differed in response to ochratoxin or that different factors were involved in the field outbreaks. The recent development of laboratory models for the study of feed refusal syndromes in poultry permitted an evaluation of the problem. Pure ochratoxin A reduced the consumption of feed by young turkeys. Refusal of graded concentrations of ochratoxin A in feed was not detected in young chickens. These results, which suggested that feed refusal is a symptom of ochratoxicosis in turkeys but not in chickens, provide additional evidence that the aforementioned outbreaks were caused by ochratoxin and that ochratoxicosis is an emerging problem in the poultry industry.