Effects of DDT on Growing Turkeys

THE use of DDT, 2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl) 1,1,1-trichloroethane, on turkey farms to control houseflies and other insects is likely to become widespread. During the process of exterminating insects, some of the chemical is almost certain to find its way into the digestive tracts of the birds. This experiment had for its object the determination of the effect of certain quantities of DDT when eaten by turkeys. As a preliminary test, six turkeys, three males and three females, then 18 weeks old, were placed in a wire-floored house provided with a slat-floored sun-porch. These were normal turkeys of the Beltsville Small White variety that had been reared in the same quarters and fed an all-mash, all-vegetable-protein diet similar to the basal diet used in these experiments. The basal diet had the following composition: To 970 gms. of this mash, 30 cc. of peanut oil solution containing 10 gms. of technical DDT per 100 . . .