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Dietary Chloride Requirement of Starting Turkeys12
Dietary Chloride Requirement of Starting Turkeys1-2 J. J. KUBICEK AND T . W . SULLIVAN Department of Poultry Science, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 68503 (Received for publication February 7, 1973)
POULTRY SCIENCE 52: 1903-1909, 1973 INTRODUCTION
S
TUDIES concerning the chloride requirement of poultry and other birds were not published until the early 1960's. Scott et al. (1960) reported that the chloride requirement of young pheasants and quail was between 480 and 1,100 parts per million (p.p.m.), or 0.048 and 0.110 percent of the ration. Leach and Nesheim (1963) observed severe deficiency symptoms in chicks fed a basal diet containing 190 p.p.m. of chloride. Addition of 1,200 p.p.m. chloride to this diet prevented the deficiency symptoms and allowed optimal growth rate. Symptoms of chloride deficiency in the chick were dehydration, hemoconcentration and nervous disorders. Nesheim et al. (1964) have studied the interrelationship between dietary levels of sodium, chlorine and potassium in chicks. Research data concerning the chloride requirement of turkeys have apparently not been published. The present study was con1. Published as paper number 3532, Journal Series, Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station. 2. From a thesis submitted by the senior author in partial fulfillment of requirements for the M.S. degree.
ducted to determine the dietary chloride requirement of starting turkeys and to observe the effects of deficiency. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
Four experiments of 28 days duration were conducted with starting turkeys maintained in electrically heated battery brooders. In each experiment day-old Large White turkeys of the Amerine strain were randomly assigned to experimental treatments after being sexed, wing banded and weighed. Experimental diets and distilled water were given ad libitum in all experiments. The basal diet (Table 1) was formulated to meet all nutritional requirements except chloride. The chloride content of this diet was calculated to be approximately 0.08 percent or 800 p.p.m. However, chemical analysis indicated that the diet contained only an average of 0.005 percent (50 p.p.m.) chloride. This difference was apparently due to a discrepancy in the chloride content of isolated soybean protein. Sodium and potassium contents of the diet as determined by chemical analysis were 0.21 and 0.49 percent, respectively. Sources of supplemental chloride used in this study were sodium chloride, po-
1903
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ABSTRACT Four experiments of 28 days duration were conducted to determine the dietary chloride requirement and study the effects of chloride deficiency in starting turkeys. A basal diet composed largely of dextrose and isolated soybean protein was utilized. The chloride content of this diet was 0.005 percent as determined by chemical analysis. Distilled water and experimental diets were supplied ad libitum to poults in all experiments. Maximum body weight gain was obtained with 0.145 percent of dietary chloride. Therefore, the minimum dietary requirement for growth was greater than 0.125 percent but apparently no more than 0.145 percent. A salt (NaCl) level of 0.24 percent in turkey starter diets will provide the minimum chloride requirement. Survival rate or livability was slightly improved with chloride levels higher than 0.145 percent. Chloride deficient poults exhibited extremely poor growth, high mortality, dehydration and nervous symptoms. After a period of over-excitement, deficient poults would recline, extend their legs to the rear and hold their wings rigid. These tetanic seizures would last from one to three minutes and were often followed by death. A nervous or over-excited condition would also occur in deficient birds during handling or following a loud, sharp noise.
1904
J . J . KUBICEK AND T. W. SULLIVAN
TABLE 1.—Composition of basal diet Ingredients
Total Calculated Composition: Protein, % Metabolizable energy, Kcal./kg. Metabolizable energy, Kcal./lb. Calcium, % Phosphorus, % "Available" P, %
484 365 30 30 7.5 5.0 0.5 1.33 1.0 7.0 3.0 0.5 28.0 3.4 13.9 14.4 4.6 0.3 0.3 0.04 0.30 0.04 0.001 0.001 1000.112 30.0 3380 1535 1.20 0.80 0.65
'Cerelose, produced by C.P.C. International, Argo, Illinois. 2 Cellulose or wood flour manufactured by the Brown Company, Chicago, Illinois. 3 Pro-Strep, manufactured by Merck & Co., Railway, New Jersey, contains 44 mg. of a 1:3 combination of procaine penicillin and streptomycin per gram. This premix provided the following in mg. per kilogram of diet: vitamin B]2, .02; d-biotin, .30; menadione sodium bisulfite, 4; pyridoxine, 8; folic acid, 6; riboflavin, 10; Ca-pantothenate, 30; thiamine, 15; and niacin, 100.
Experiment 1. Sodium chloride was added to the basal diet (Table 1) to obtain different levels of dietary chloride. The five levels of chloride involved in this experiment were: 0.005, 0.025, 0.045, 0.065 and 0.085 percent. This experiment was conducted before a reliable chloride analysis was obtained for the basal diet. Therefore, treatment levels were lower than intended. Each of the five levels were replicated four times with two pens of eight males and two pens of eight females; thus 32 poults were assigned to each dietary chloride level. Experiment 2. Potassium chloride instead of sodium chloride was the source of supplemental chloride in this experiment. The five dietary chloride levels in this experiment were: 0.065, 0.085, 0.105, 0.125 and 0.145 percent. Each of the five levels was replicated with four groups of seven female poults. Experiment 3. Calcium chloride was used as the source of supplemental chloride in this test. The six dietary levels of chloride involved in this experiment were: 0.085, 0.105,
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Dextrose sugar1 Isolated soybean protein Solka floe2 Corn oil Choline dihydrogen citrate B-vitamin premix* Vitamin A premix (30,000 I.U./gm.) Vitamin D 3 premix (3,000 I.C.U./gm.) Vitamin E premix (44 I.U./gm.) Methionine hydroxy analog Glycine Pro-strep 3 CaC0 3 (Purecal) CaHP0 4 • 2H 2 0 KH 2 P0 4 NaH 2 P0 4 • H 2 0 MgS0 4 • 7H 2 0 MnS0 4 • H 2 0 F e S 0 4 • 7H 2 0 CuS0 4 • 5H 2 0 ZnS0 4 • 7H 2 0 KI ( N H ^ M o A , • 4H 2 0 Na 2 Se0 3
Per kilogram diet
tassium chloride and calcium chloride, each of which contained 60.66, 47.56 and 61.33 percent of chloride, respectively. Utilization of different sources should have indicated whether responses were due solely to chloride or partially to cation additions and ratios. Individual body weights and the feed consumption of each experimental pen were recorded at 14, 21 and 28 days. Mortality was recorded daily. However, only the data recorded at 28 days are presented herein. Data pertaining to body weight, livability (survival) and feed efficiency (feed/gain) were analyzed statistically using the analysis of variance and least significant difference test according to Snedecor and Cochran (1967). Survival data percentages were transformed to arcsin proportions.
1905
CHLORIDE REQUIREMENT OF POULTS
0.125, 0.145, 0.165 and 0.185 percent. Four groups of eight female poults were randomly assigned to each dietary treatment.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Experiment 1. Data pertaining to body weight, feed efficiency and survival are presented in Table 2. Overall survival of poults in this experiment was much lower than expected; this was due primarily to the very minimal levels of dietary chloride. Survival was significantly (P < 0.05) greater as the dietary chloride level was increased. Survival rate was only 37.5 percent among poults receiving the highest chloride level, 0.085 percent. This level was obviously not adequate to support maximum survival and growth.
Nervous symptoms could have resulted from alkalosis which causes an over excitability of the nervous system and eventually tetany. During tetany the muscles are fully contracted and do not get a chance to relax. In preparation for the relaxed state, nerve tissue contains chloride ions which hold a negative charge inside, while fluid outside the cell is positively charged by sodium and
TABLE 2.—Influence of graded levels of dietary chloride on body weight gain, feed efficiency and survival of turkeys to 28 days of age, Experiment 1* 0-28 days CI" level' % 0.005 0.025 0.045 0.065 0.085
28-day Body Weight
Feed/gain
Survival
grams 85A 157B 169B 280C 359D
4.89a 4.55a 3.89b 2.78c 2.26c
6.2a 28.1b 31.2c 18.8b 37.5c
%
*Two groups of 8 female and two groups of 8 male poults were randomly assigned to each treatment at day-old. Treatment means for either body weight, feed/gain or survival, which are not followed by the same letter differ significantly. Lower case letters indicate P < 0.05; capital letters indicate P < 0.01. 'The basal diet contained .005% Cl^; supplemental CI" was provided by NaCl.
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Experiment 4. A combination of potassium chloride and sodium chloride were added to the basal diet as the source of supplemental chloride in this experiment. The amount of added sodium chloride was constant and provided 0.04 percent of chloride in all diets; chloride in excess of 0.045 percent was provided by potassium chloride. The six dietary chloride levels were: 0.085, 0.105, 0.125, 0.145, 0.165 and 0.185 percent. Three groups of seven female poults were randomly assigned to each dietary treatment.
Chloride deficient poults exhibited extremely poor growth rate, high mortality and dehydration. Also, poults fed the three lower levels of chloride showed nervous symptoms, which appeared to be characteristic for chloride deficiency. After a period of excitement, poults would recline, extend their legs to the rear and hold their wings rigid. These tetanic seizures would last from one to three minutes and were often followed by death. A nervous or over-excited condition would also occur in deficient birds during handling or following a loud, sharp noise. Leach and Nesheim (1963) have observed similar symptoms in chloride deficient chicks. Practically all of the birds would vomit a milky solution when handled during weighing. This condition could have been due to chloride deficiency, but also may have been related to the nature of our purified diet (dextroseisolated soybean protein).
1906
J . J . KUBICEK AND T . W . SULLIVAN
Significant (P < 0.01) increases in body weight gain occurred as dietary chloride was increased, except between the 0.025 and 0.045 percent levels. Both body weight and survival data clearly indicate that the highest level of chloride, 0.085 percent, was not adequate. If normal growth had been obtained, poults should have weighed approximately 500 to 600 grams (male and female average for this strain) at four weeks of age. However, the average body weight of poults fed 0.085 percent of chloride was only 359 grams at four weeks. Feed efficiency (feed /gain) was significantly (P < 0.05) improved among birds fed 0.045 or more of chloride. The feed/gain
ratio from 0-4 weeks for poults fed 0.085 percent chloride was 2.26, as compared to the expected or optimal values of 1.40 to 1.80. Experiment 2. Data obtained in this experiment are presented in Table 3. Survival was improved as the dietary chloride level was increased. Only three of 28 poults (10.7 percent) receiving the lowest level of chloride survived to four weeks. However, the survival rate was 42.3 percent among poults fed 0.145 percent chloride. Differences in survival rate among treatments were not statistically (P < 0.05) significant. The overall survival rate in this experiment was again lower than expected, as occurred in experiment 1. No explanation was evident for the poor survival of poults receiving the three higher levels of chloride. Very few nervous symptoms were observed in this experiment. According to Kumpost and Sullivan (1966), a ratio of about 2.0 or 2.5 parts of potassium to one part of sodium may be optimal in the diet of young turkeys. Since KC1 was used as the chloride source in the present experiment, the dietary K:Na ratio was about 2.49:1 at the 0.065 percent chloride level and increased to 2.72:1 with 0.145 percent chloride. The greatest four-week body weight was
TABLE 3.—Influence of graded levels of dietary chloride on body weight gain, feed efficiency and survival of turkeys to 28 days of age, Experiment 2* 0-28 days C\~ level1
28-day Body Weight
%
grams 274a 392ab 266a 499bc 565c
0.065 0.085 0.105 0.125 0.145
Feed/gain
Survival
2.70a 2.54a 2.88a 1.88b 2.10b
10.7 21.4 32.1 39.3 42.8
%
*Four groups of 7 female poults were randomly assigned to each treatment at day-old. Treatment means for either body weight or feed/gain which are not followed by the same letter differ significantly (P < 0.05). 1 The basal diet contained .005% Cl~; supplemental Cl~ was provided by KC1.
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potassium ions. When chloride ions are lacking, more time is required between contractions for muscles to return to the relaxed state. Minor alterations of potassium concentration in the extracellular fluid can cause major disturbances in neuromuscular irritability. When these conditions occur, a depressor effect on muscle impulses results which causes cardiac dilation and weakness. An end result is death, if the potassium concentration exceeds the normal by three times (Bell et al., 1961; Guyton, 1963). Therefore, with a low chloride intake, loss of fluids by vomiting and a higher level of potassium may be the causes of alkalosis.
1907
CHLORIDE REQUIREMENT OF POULTS
TABLE 4.—Influence of graded levels of dietary chloride on body weight gain, feed efficiency and survival of turkeys to 28 days of age, Experiment 3* 0-28 days CI" level1
28-day Body Weight
%
grams
Feed/gain
Survival %
obtained with 0.145 percent of chloride, the highest dietary level. However, there was no significant difference (P < 0.05) between the average body weight of poults receiving 0.125 and 0.145 percent of dietary chloride. Growth rate of these poults was nearly maximal or normal for the purified diet employed. There were no significant differences among treatments relative to feed efficiency (feed/gain). However, poults receiving the two higher chloride levels had the lower feed/gain ratios or most efficient gains. Experiment 3. The four-week body weight, feed efficiency and survival data from experiment 3 are presented in Table 4. Highly significant (P < 0.01) differences among treatments occurred relative to survival. Survival rate was only 25.0% among poults receiving 0.085 percent of dietary chloride. The next increment of chloride significantly (P < 0.01) increased survival to 46.9 percent. Survival rate was nearly normal at (78.1 percent) among poults fed 0.185 percent of dietary chloride. Only a few nervous symptoms were observed among poults fed the four lower levels of chloride. Since calcium chloride was used as the chloride source, all dietary treatments in this experiment had the same K:Na ratio of about 2.33:1, which is within
the optimum range suggested by Kumpost and Sullivan (1966). Body weight differences among treatments were highly significant (P < 0.01). Each increment of dietary chloride through 0.145 percent significantly increased body weight gain. There were no significant differences among body weight means of poults fed the three higher levels (0.145, 0.165 and 0.185 percent) of chloride. These levels supported nearly maximal or normal growth, suggesting that 0.145 percent of chloride was perhaps adequate. Feed efficiency data generally followed the same trend as did the survival and body weight data. As the level of chloride was increased, feed efficiency was improved. The 0.165 percent chloride level was an exception to this generalization. Differences among treatments relative to feed efficiency were significant (P < 0.05). Poults receiving 0.185 percent of dietary chloride showed the best feed/gain ratio, 1.48, and also the greatest body weight gain and survival. Experiment 4. Data pertaining to body weight gain, feed efficiency and survival are presented in Table 5. Survival rate did not follow any consistent pattern in this experiment. Expected or near optimum survival
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0.085 311A 2.61a 25.0A 0.105 403B 2.11b 46.9B 0.125 426BC 1.86bc 56.2B 0.145 533D 1.69cd 56.2B 0.165 492CD 1.80c 65.6BC 0.185 535D 1.48d 78.1C *Four groups of 8 female poults were randomly assigned to each treatment at day-old. Treatment means for either body weight, feed/gain or survival which are not followed by the same letter differ significantly. Lower case letters indicate P < 0.05; capital letters indicate P < 0.01. 'The basal diet contained .005% CI"; supplemental CI" was supplied by CaCl2.
1908
J. J. KUBICEK AND T. W . SULLIVAN
TABLE 5.—Influence of graded levels of dietary chloride on body weight gain, feed efficiency and survival of turkeys to 28 days of age, Experiment 4* 0-28 days CI" level1
• Body Weight
%
grams
0.085 0.105 0.125 0.145 0.165 0.185
284aA 436bB 436bB 538cB 526cb 527cB
Feed /gain
Survival
% 23.8aA 71.4cD 38.1abAB 42.9bABC 61.9cBCD 66.7cCD
2.29a 1.76a 1.86a 1.72a 1.78a 1.52a
T A B L E 6.-
-Correlation of dietary chloride levels with 28-day body weight, survival and feed efficiency means
% chloride: 0.005 0.025 0.045 0.065 0.085 0.105 0.125 0.145 0.165 0.185 Corr. coefficient
Body wt. grams 85 157 159 255 337 368 464 545 509 531 0.977
rates were observed in poults fed 0.105, 0.165 and 0.185 percent of chloride. No reason was evident and no explanation is offered for the erratic trend in survival data. Maximum body weight gain to four-weeks was obtained in poults receiving 0.145 percent of dietary chloride. Also, there were no significant differences in body weight among poults fed 0.145, 0.165 and 0.185 percent of chloride. These results are in complete agreement with the data from experiment 3. It would appear that 0.145 percent of dietary chloride was adequate for maximum growth. Feed efficiency data followed the same trend as did the body weight data. However, the best feed/gain ratio, 1.52, was for poults fed 0.185 percent chloride.
Feed/gain
% Survival 6.3 28.1 31.3 14.8 26.9 50.1 44.6 47.1 68.5 72.5 0.910
4.89 4.55 3.89 2.74 2.43 2.25 1.87 1.84 1.79 1.50 0.940
Correlation coefficients for dietary chloride levels versus the four-week body weight, survival and feed efficiency means were computed. Data for all four experiments are presented in Table 6. The highest correlation coefficient, 0.977 occurred with body weight versus chloride level; however, both survival rate and feed efficiency (feed/gain) were highly correlated with dietary chloride. Different responses to dietary treatments were due primarily to chloride and not cations added from the various salts. REFERENCES
Bell, G. H., J. N. Davidson and H. Scarborough, 1961. Textbook of Physiology and Biochemistry. Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore.
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"Three groups of 7 female poults were randomly assigned to each treatment at day-old. Treatment means for either body weight, feed/gain or survival which are not followed by the same letter differ significantly. Lower case letters indicate P < 0.05; capital letters indicate P < 0.01. 'The basal diet contained .005% Cl~; supplemental Cl~ was suppled by both NaCl and KC1.
1909
CHLORIDE REQUIREMENT OF POULTS
Guyton, A. C , 1963. Medical Physiology, 2nd edition, W. B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia. Kumpost, H. E., and T. W. Sullivan, 1966. Minimum sodium requirement and interaction of potassium and sodium in the diet of young turkeys. Poultry Sci. 45: 1334-1359. Leach, R. M., and M. C. Nesheim, 1963. Studies on chloride deficiency in chicks. J. Nutrition, 81: 193-199. Nesheim, M. C , R. M. Leach, Jr., T. R. Zeigler
and J. A. Serafin, 1964. Interrelationship between dietary levels of sodium, chlorine and potassium. J. Nutrition, 84: 361-366. Scott, M. L., A. van Tienhoven, E. R. Holm and R. E. Reynolds, 1960. Studies on sodium, chlorine and iodine requirements of young pheasants and quail. J. Nutrition, 71: 282-288. Snedecor, G. W., and W. G. Cochran, 1967. Statistical Methods, 6th edition, The Iowa State College Press. Ames, Iowa.
Effect of Mycoplasma Synoviae on Broiler Performance Mississippi
(Received for publication February 8, 1973)
ABSTRACT Two trials were conducted to determine the effect of Mycoplasma synoviae (Ms.) on broiler performance. A total of 1,200 males and 1,200 females was used in each trial. At 28 days of age, 75 birds per pen were placed, sexes separate, in 32 pens in a house equally divided by a solid partition. The temperature in the house was maintained at 21° C , and the ventilation rate varied from 28 to 56 liters per minute per bird. A combination vaccine for Newcastle disease and infectious bronchitis was given in the water at 28 days of age. All birds were weighed and feed records started 3 days after vaccination. At 32 days of age, all birds in the 16 pens in one section of the house were exposed to an aerosol of a Ms. broth culture. All birds were weighed and feed records terminated at 59 days of age. The four groups, Ms.-free males, Ms.-exposed males, Ms.-free females and Afs.-exposed females, were processed at a federally inspected processing plant at 60 days of age and post-mortem condemnation records obtained. The Ms.-exposed groups had significantly higher condemnations that were due to airsacculitis than the Ms.-free groups. There was a trend for decreased body weight and increased feed conversion ratio for the Ms.-exposed birds. POULTRY SCIENCE 52: 1909-1912, 1973 INTRODUCTION
ABRICANT (1960) listed infectious synovitis-derived organisms as a separate serotype of Mycoplasma in his classification scheme. The serologically distinct Mycoplasma associated with infectious synovitis of poultry reported by Chalquest and Fabricant (1960) was named Mycoplasma synoviae (Ms.) by Olson et al. (1964), and designated avian Mycoplasma serotype S by Dierks et al. (1967). The clinical signs of Ms. have been described as a synovitis, primarily of the hock joints and foot pads. Olson (1972) described some birds as having a generalized infection without swelling of the joints. None of the early workers described air-
F
sacculitis as one of the gross lesions of infectious synovitis (Cover etal., 1956; Olson et al., 1956; Sevoian et al., 1957; Thayer et al., 1958; and Olson, 1959). Yoder (1970) isolated Ms. from the air sacs of birds condemned for airsacculitis and showed that it is capable of causing airsacculitis when given in conjunction with Newcastle disease and infectious bronchitis vaccination. In laboratory studies, Kleven (1972), and Siccardi (1972) have also shown that Ms. infection with a viral stress would cause airsacculitis in broilers. The purpose of this study was to show the effect of an aerosol exposure of Ms. on broiler performance.
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T . H . V A R D A M A N , F . N . R E E C E A N D J . W . DEATON
U.S. Department of Agriculture, A.R.S., South Central Poultry Research Laboratory, State, Mississippi 39762
POULTRY SCIENCE 52: 1903-1909, 1973 INTRODUCTION
S
TUDIES concerning the chloride requirement of poultry and other birds were not published until the early 1960's. Scott et al. (1960) reported that the chloride requirement of young pheasants and quail was between 480 and 1,100 parts per million (p.p.m.), or 0.048 and 0.110 percent of the ration. Leach and Nesheim (1963) observed severe deficiency symptoms in chicks fed a basal diet containing 190 p.p.m. of chloride. Addition of 1,200 p.p.m. chloride to this diet prevented the deficiency symptoms and allowed optimal growth rate. Symptoms of chloride deficiency in the chick were dehydration, hemoconcentration and nervous disorders. Nesheim et al. (1964) have studied the interrelationship between dietary levels of sodium, chlorine and potassium in chicks. Research data concerning the chloride requirement of turkeys have apparently not been published. The present study was con1. Published as paper number 3532, Journal Series, Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station. 2. From a thesis submitted by the senior author in partial fulfillment of requirements for the M.S. degree.
ducted to determine the dietary chloride requirement of starting turkeys and to observe the effects of deficiency. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
Four experiments of 28 days duration were conducted with starting turkeys maintained in electrically heated battery brooders. In each experiment day-old Large White turkeys of the Amerine strain were randomly assigned to experimental treatments after being sexed, wing banded and weighed. Experimental diets and distilled water were given ad libitum in all experiments. The basal diet (Table 1) was formulated to meet all nutritional requirements except chloride. The chloride content of this diet was calculated to be approximately 0.08 percent or 800 p.p.m. However, chemical analysis indicated that the diet contained only an average of 0.005 percent (50 p.p.m.) chloride. This difference was apparently due to a discrepancy in the chloride content of isolated soybean protein. Sodium and potassium contents of the diet as determined by chemical analysis were 0.21 and 0.49 percent, respectively. Sources of supplemental chloride used in this study were sodium chloride, po-
1903
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ABSTRACT Four experiments of 28 days duration were conducted to determine the dietary chloride requirement and study the effects of chloride deficiency in starting turkeys. A basal diet composed largely of dextrose and isolated soybean protein was utilized. The chloride content of this diet was 0.005 percent as determined by chemical analysis. Distilled water and experimental diets were supplied ad libitum to poults in all experiments. Maximum body weight gain was obtained with 0.145 percent of dietary chloride. Therefore, the minimum dietary requirement for growth was greater than 0.125 percent but apparently no more than 0.145 percent. A salt (NaCl) level of 0.24 percent in turkey starter diets will provide the minimum chloride requirement. Survival rate or livability was slightly improved with chloride levels higher than 0.145 percent. Chloride deficient poults exhibited extremely poor growth, high mortality, dehydration and nervous symptoms. After a period of over-excitement, deficient poults would recline, extend their legs to the rear and hold their wings rigid. These tetanic seizures would last from one to three minutes and were often followed by death. A nervous or over-excited condition would also occur in deficient birds during handling or following a loud, sharp noise.
1904
J . J . KUBICEK AND T. W. SULLIVAN
TABLE 1.—Composition of basal diet Ingredients
Total Calculated Composition: Protein, % Metabolizable energy, Kcal./kg. Metabolizable energy, Kcal./lb. Calcium, % Phosphorus, % "Available" P, %
484 365 30 30 7.5 5.0 0.5 1.33 1.0 7.0 3.0 0.5 28.0 3.4 13.9 14.4 4.6 0.3 0.3 0.04 0.30 0.04 0.001 0.001 1000.112 30.0 3380 1535 1.20 0.80 0.65
'Cerelose, produced by C.P.C. International, Argo, Illinois. 2 Cellulose or wood flour manufactured by the Brown Company, Chicago, Illinois. 3 Pro-Strep, manufactured by Merck & Co., Railway, New Jersey, contains 44 mg. of a 1:3 combination of procaine penicillin and streptomycin per gram. This premix provided the following in mg. per kilogram of diet: vitamin B]2, .02; d-biotin, .30; menadione sodium bisulfite, 4; pyridoxine, 8; folic acid, 6; riboflavin, 10; Ca-pantothenate, 30; thiamine, 15; and niacin, 100.
Experiment 1. Sodium chloride was added to the basal diet (Table 1) to obtain different levels of dietary chloride. The five levels of chloride involved in this experiment were: 0.005, 0.025, 0.045, 0.065 and 0.085 percent. This experiment was conducted before a reliable chloride analysis was obtained for the basal diet. Therefore, treatment levels were lower than intended. Each of the five levels were replicated four times with two pens of eight males and two pens of eight females; thus 32 poults were assigned to each dietary chloride level. Experiment 2. Potassium chloride instead of sodium chloride was the source of supplemental chloride in this experiment. The five dietary chloride levels in this experiment were: 0.065, 0.085, 0.105, 0.125 and 0.145 percent. Each of the five levels was replicated with four groups of seven female poults. Experiment 3. Calcium chloride was used as the source of supplemental chloride in this test. The six dietary levels of chloride involved in this experiment were: 0.085, 0.105,
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Ryerson University on June 16, 2015
Dextrose sugar1 Isolated soybean protein Solka floe2 Corn oil Choline dihydrogen citrate B-vitamin premix* Vitamin A premix (30,000 I.U./gm.) Vitamin D 3 premix (3,000 I.C.U./gm.) Vitamin E premix (44 I.U./gm.) Methionine hydroxy analog Glycine Pro-strep 3 CaC0 3 (Purecal) CaHP0 4 • 2H 2 0 KH 2 P0 4 NaH 2 P0 4 • H 2 0 MgS0 4 • 7H 2 0 MnS0 4 • H 2 0 F e S 0 4 • 7H 2 0 CuS0 4 • 5H 2 0 ZnS0 4 • 7H 2 0 KI ( N H ^ M o A , • 4H 2 0 Na 2 Se0 3
Per kilogram diet
tassium chloride and calcium chloride, each of which contained 60.66, 47.56 and 61.33 percent of chloride, respectively. Utilization of different sources should have indicated whether responses were due solely to chloride or partially to cation additions and ratios. Individual body weights and the feed consumption of each experimental pen were recorded at 14, 21 and 28 days. Mortality was recorded daily. However, only the data recorded at 28 days are presented herein. Data pertaining to body weight, livability (survival) and feed efficiency (feed/gain) were analyzed statistically using the analysis of variance and least significant difference test according to Snedecor and Cochran (1967). Survival data percentages were transformed to arcsin proportions.
1905
CHLORIDE REQUIREMENT OF POULTS
0.125, 0.145, 0.165 and 0.185 percent. Four groups of eight female poults were randomly assigned to each dietary treatment.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Experiment 1. Data pertaining to body weight, feed efficiency and survival are presented in Table 2. Overall survival of poults in this experiment was much lower than expected; this was due primarily to the very minimal levels of dietary chloride. Survival was significantly (P < 0.05) greater as the dietary chloride level was increased. Survival rate was only 37.5 percent among poults receiving the highest chloride level, 0.085 percent. This level was obviously not adequate to support maximum survival and growth.
Nervous symptoms could have resulted from alkalosis which causes an over excitability of the nervous system and eventually tetany. During tetany the muscles are fully contracted and do not get a chance to relax. In preparation for the relaxed state, nerve tissue contains chloride ions which hold a negative charge inside, while fluid outside the cell is positively charged by sodium and
TABLE 2.—Influence of graded levels of dietary chloride on body weight gain, feed efficiency and survival of turkeys to 28 days of age, Experiment 1* 0-28 days CI" level' % 0.005 0.025 0.045 0.065 0.085
28-day Body Weight
Feed/gain
Survival
grams 85A 157B 169B 280C 359D
4.89a 4.55a 3.89b 2.78c 2.26c
6.2a 28.1b 31.2c 18.8b 37.5c
%
*Two groups of 8 female and two groups of 8 male poults were randomly assigned to each treatment at day-old. Treatment means for either body weight, feed/gain or survival, which are not followed by the same letter differ significantly. Lower case letters indicate P < 0.05; capital letters indicate P < 0.01. 'The basal diet contained .005% Cl^; supplemental CI" was provided by NaCl.
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Experiment 4. A combination of potassium chloride and sodium chloride were added to the basal diet as the source of supplemental chloride in this experiment. The amount of added sodium chloride was constant and provided 0.04 percent of chloride in all diets; chloride in excess of 0.045 percent was provided by potassium chloride. The six dietary chloride levels were: 0.085, 0.105, 0.125, 0.145, 0.165 and 0.185 percent. Three groups of seven female poults were randomly assigned to each dietary treatment.
Chloride deficient poults exhibited extremely poor growth rate, high mortality and dehydration. Also, poults fed the three lower levels of chloride showed nervous symptoms, which appeared to be characteristic for chloride deficiency. After a period of excitement, poults would recline, extend their legs to the rear and hold their wings rigid. These tetanic seizures would last from one to three minutes and were often followed by death. A nervous or over-excited condition would also occur in deficient birds during handling or following a loud, sharp noise. Leach and Nesheim (1963) have observed similar symptoms in chloride deficient chicks. Practically all of the birds would vomit a milky solution when handled during weighing. This condition could have been due to chloride deficiency, but also may have been related to the nature of our purified diet (dextroseisolated soybean protein).
1906
J . J . KUBICEK AND T . W . SULLIVAN
Significant (P < 0.01) increases in body weight gain occurred as dietary chloride was increased, except between the 0.025 and 0.045 percent levels. Both body weight and survival data clearly indicate that the highest level of chloride, 0.085 percent, was not adequate. If normal growth had been obtained, poults should have weighed approximately 500 to 600 grams (male and female average for this strain) at four weeks of age. However, the average body weight of poults fed 0.085 percent of chloride was only 359 grams at four weeks. Feed efficiency (feed /gain) was significantly (P < 0.05) improved among birds fed 0.045 or more of chloride. The feed/gain
ratio from 0-4 weeks for poults fed 0.085 percent chloride was 2.26, as compared to the expected or optimal values of 1.40 to 1.80. Experiment 2. Data obtained in this experiment are presented in Table 3. Survival was improved as the dietary chloride level was increased. Only three of 28 poults (10.7 percent) receiving the lowest level of chloride survived to four weeks. However, the survival rate was 42.3 percent among poults fed 0.145 percent chloride. Differences in survival rate among treatments were not statistically (P < 0.05) significant. The overall survival rate in this experiment was again lower than expected, as occurred in experiment 1. No explanation was evident for the poor survival of poults receiving the three higher levels of chloride. Very few nervous symptoms were observed in this experiment. According to Kumpost and Sullivan (1966), a ratio of about 2.0 or 2.5 parts of potassium to one part of sodium may be optimal in the diet of young turkeys. Since KC1 was used as the chloride source in the present experiment, the dietary K:Na ratio was about 2.49:1 at the 0.065 percent chloride level and increased to 2.72:1 with 0.145 percent chloride. The greatest four-week body weight was
TABLE 3.—Influence of graded levels of dietary chloride on body weight gain, feed efficiency and survival of turkeys to 28 days of age, Experiment 2* 0-28 days C\~ level1
28-day Body Weight
%
grams 274a 392ab 266a 499bc 565c
0.065 0.085 0.105 0.125 0.145
Feed/gain
Survival
2.70a 2.54a 2.88a 1.88b 2.10b
10.7 21.4 32.1 39.3 42.8
%
*Four groups of 7 female poults were randomly assigned to each treatment at day-old. Treatment means for either body weight or feed/gain which are not followed by the same letter differ significantly (P < 0.05). 1 The basal diet contained .005% Cl~; supplemental Cl~ was provided by KC1.
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potassium ions. When chloride ions are lacking, more time is required between contractions for muscles to return to the relaxed state. Minor alterations of potassium concentration in the extracellular fluid can cause major disturbances in neuromuscular irritability. When these conditions occur, a depressor effect on muscle impulses results which causes cardiac dilation and weakness. An end result is death, if the potassium concentration exceeds the normal by three times (Bell et al., 1961; Guyton, 1963). Therefore, with a low chloride intake, loss of fluids by vomiting and a higher level of potassium may be the causes of alkalosis.
1907
CHLORIDE REQUIREMENT OF POULTS
TABLE 4.—Influence of graded levels of dietary chloride on body weight gain, feed efficiency and survival of turkeys to 28 days of age, Experiment 3* 0-28 days CI" level1
28-day Body Weight
%
grams
Feed/gain
Survival %
obtained with 0.145 percent of chloride, the highest dietary level. However, there was no significant difference (P < 0.05) between the average body weight of poults receiving 0.125 and 0.145 percent of dietary chloride. Growth rate of these poults was nearly maximal or normal for the purified diet employed. There were no significant differences among treatments relative to feed efficiency (feed/gain). However, poults receiving the two higher chloride levels had the lower feed/gain ratios or most efficient gains. Experiment 3. The four-week body weight, feed efficiency and survival data from experiment 3 are presented in Table 4. Highly significant (P < 0.01) differences among treatments occurred relative to survival. Survival rate was only 25.0% among poults receiving 0.085 percent of dietary chloride. The next increment of chloride significantly (P < 0.01) increased survival to 46.9 percent. Survival rate was nearly normal at (78.1 percent) among poults fed 0.185 percent of dietary chloride. Only a few nervous symptoms were observed among poults fed the four lower levels of chloride. Since calcium chloride was used as the chloride source, all dietary treatments in this experiment had the same K:Na ratio of about 2.33:1, which is within
the optimum range suggested by Kumpost and Sullivan (1966). Body weight differences among treatments were highly significant (P < 0.01). Each increment of dietary chloride through 0.145 percent significantly increased body weight gain. There were no significant differences among body weight means of poults fed the three higher levels (0.145, 0.165 and 0.185 percent) of chloride. These levels supported nearly maximal or normal growth, suggesting that 0.145 percent of chloride was perhaps adequate. Feed efficiency data generally followed the same trend as did the survival and body weight data. As the level of chloride was increased, feed efficiency was improved. The 0.165 percent chloride level was an exception to this generalization. Differences among treatments relative to feed efficiency were significant (P < 0.05). Poults receiving 0.185 percent of dietary chloride showed the best feed/gain ratio, 1.48, and also the greatest body weight gain and survival. Experiment 4. Data pertaining to body weight gain, feed efficiency and survival are presented in Table 5. Survival rate did not follow any consistent pattern in this experiment. Expected or near optimum survival
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0.085 311A 2.61a 25.0A 0.105 403B 2.11b 46.9B 0.125 426BC 1.86bc 56.2B 0.145 533D 1.69cd 56.2B 0.165 492CD 1.80c 65.6BC 0.185 535D 1.48d 78.1C *Four groups of 8 female poults were randomly assigned to each treatment at day-old. Treatment means for either body weight, feed/gain or survival which are not followed by the same letter differ significantly. Lower case letters indicate P < 0.05; capital letters indicate P < 0.01. 'The basal diet contained .005% CI"; supplemental CI" was supplied by CaCl2.
1908
J. J. KUBICEK AND T. W . SULLIVAN
TABLE 5.—Influence of graded levels of dietary chloride on body weight gain, feed efficiency and survival of turkeys to 28 days of age, Experiment 4* 0-28 days CI" level1
• Body Weight
%
grams
0.085 0.105 0.125 0.145 0.165 0.185
284aA 436bB 436bB 538cB 526cb 527cB
Feed /gain
Survival
% 23.8aA 71.4cD 38.1abAB 42.9bABC 61.9cBCD 66.7cCD
2.29a 1.76a 1.86a 1.72a 1.78a 1.52a
T A B L E 6.-
-Correlation of dietary chloride levels with 28-day body weight, survival and feed efficiency means
% chloride: 0.005 0.025 0.045 0.065 0.085 0.105 0.125 0.145 0.165 0.185 Corr. coefficient
Body wt. grams 85 157 159 255 337 368 464 545 509 531 0.977
rates were observed in poults fed 0.105, 0.165 and 0.185 percent of chloride. No reason was evident and no explanation is offered for the erratic trend in survival data. Maximum body weight gain to four-weeks was obtained in poults receiving 0.145 percent of dietary chloride. Also, there were no significant differences in body weight among poults fed 0.145, 0.165 and 0.185 percent of chloride. These results are in complete agreement with the data from experiment 3. It would appear that 0.145 percent of dietary chloride was adequate for maximum growth. Feed efficiency data followed the same trend as did the body weight data. However, the best feed/gain ratio, 1.52, was for poults fed 0.185 percent chloride.
Feed/gain
% Survival 6.3 28.1 31.3 14.8 26.9 50.1 44.6 47.1 68.5 72.5 0.910
4.89 4.55 3.89 2.74 2.43 2.25 1.87 1.84 1.79 1.50 0.940
Correlation coefficients for dietary chloride levels versus the four-week body weight, survival and feed efficiency means were computed. Data for all four experiments are presented in Table 6. The highest correlation coefficient, 0.977 occurred with body weight versus chloride level; however, both survival rate and feed efficiency (feed/gain) were highly correlated with dietary chloride. Different responses to dietary treatments were due primarily to chloride and not cations added from the various salts. REFERENCES
Bell, G. H., J. N. Davidson and H. Scarborough, 1961. Textbook of Physiology and Biochemistry. Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore.
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"Three groups of 7 female poults were randomly assigned to each treatment at day-old. Treatment means for either body weight, feed/gain or survival which are not followed by the same letter differ significantly. Lower case letters indicate P < 0.05; capital letters indicate P < 0.01. 'The basal diet contained .005% Cl~; supplemental Cl~ was suppled by both NaCl and KC1.
1909
CHLORIDE REQUIREMENT OF POULTS
Guyton, A. C , 1963. Medical Physiology, 2nd edition, W. B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia. Kumpost, H. E., and T. W. Sullivan, 1966. Minimum sodium requirement and interaction of potassium and sodium in the diet of young turkeys. Poultry Sci. 45: 1334-1359. Leach, R. M., and M. C. Nesheim, 1963. Studies on chloride deficiency in chicks. J. Nutrition, 81: 193-199. Nesheim, M. C , R. M. Leach, Jr., T. R. Zeigler
and J. A. Serafin, 1964. Interrelationship between dietary levels of sodium, chlorine and potassium. J. Nutrition, 84: 361-366. Scott, M. L., A. van Tienhoven, E. R. Holm and R. E. Reynolds, 1960. Studies on sodium, chlorine and iodine requirements of young pheasants and quail. J. Nutrition, 71: 282-288. Snedecor, G. W., and W. G. Cochran, 1967. Statistical Methods, 6th edition, The Iowa State College Press. Ames, Iowa.
Effect of Mycoplasma Synoviae on Broiler Performance Mississippi
(Received for publication February 8, 1973)
ABSTRACT Two trials were conducted to determine the effect of Mycoplasma synoviae (Ms.) on broiler performance. A total of 1,200 males and 1,200 females was used in each trial. At 28 days of age, 75 birds per pen were placed, sexes separate, in 32 pens in a house equally divided by a solid partition. The temperature in the house was maintained at 21° C , and the ventilation rate varied from 28 to 56 liters per minute per bird. A combination vaccine for Newcastle disease and infectious bronchitis was given in the water at 28 days of age. All birds were weighed and feed records started 3 days after vaccination. At 32 days of age, all birds in the 16 pens in one section of the house were exposed to an aerosol of a Ms. broth culture. All birds were weighed and feed records terminated at 59 days of age. The four groups, Ms.-free males, Ms.-exposed males, Ms.-free females and Afs.-exposed females, were processed at a federally inspected processing plant at 60 days of age and post-mortem condemnation records obtained. The Ms.-exposed groups had significantly higher condemnations that were due to airsacculitis than the Ms.-free groups. There was a trend for decreased body weight and increased feed conversion ratio for the Ms.-exposed birds. POULTRY SCIENCE 52: 1909-1912, 1973 INTRODUCTION
ABRICANT (1960) listed infectious synovitis-derived organisms as a separate serotype of Mycoplasma in his classification scheme. The serologically distinct Mycoplasma associated with infectious synovitis of poultry reported by Chalquest and Fabricant (1960) was named Mycoplasma synoviae (Ms.) by Olson et al. (1964), and designated avian Mycoplasma serotype S by Dierks et al. (1967). The clinical signs of Ms. have been described as a synovitis, primarily of the hock joints and foot pads. Olson (1972) described some birds as having a generalized infection without swelling of the joints. None of the early workers described air-
F
sacculitis as one of the gross lesions of infectious synovitis (Cover etal., 1956; Olson et al., 1956; Sevoian et al., 1957; Thayer et al., 1958; and Olson, 1959). Yoder (1970) isolated Ms. from the air sacs of birds condemned for airsacculitis and showed that it is capable of causing airsacculitis when given in conjunction with Newcastle disease and infectious bronchitis vaccination. In laboratory studies, Kleven (1972), and Siccardi (1972) have also shown that Ms. infection with a viral stress would cause airsacculitis in broilers. The purpose of this study was to show the effect of an aerosol exposure of Ms. on broiler performance.
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T . H . V A R D A M A N , F . N . R E E C E A N D J . W . DEATON
U.S. Department of Agriculture, A.R.S., South Central Poultry Research Laboratory, State, Mississippi 39762