Experimentally induced fatty liver and kidney syndrome in the young turkey

Turkeys were fed up to four weeks of age on diets of low biotin content and then fasted for 18 hours. Three birds developed clinical signs of fatty liver and kidney syndrome (FLKS) and on autopsy had pale and swollen livers and kidneys. Morphological studies showed fatty accumulations in liver, kidney, heart and proventriculus but no signs of inflammatory or degenerative changes. The infiltrated lipid had an abnormal fatty acid composition, with an increased proportion of monounsaturated fatty acids. Affected birds suffered from severe hypoglycaemia and hepatic glycogen was depleted. These findings demonstrate that FLKS can be induced experimentally in turkeys.