The Composition of the Breeder Diet and Blood Clotting in Dams and Chicks*

BLOOD CLOTTING TIME IN DAMS AND CHICKS REFERENCES

Hathaway, H. E., 1953. Meat yield of broilers of different breeds, strains and crosses. Poultry Sci. 32:968-977. Jaap, R. G., 1941. Body form in growing chickens. J. Agric. Res. 62:431-443. Morrison, M. A., E. A. Sauter, B. A. McLaren and W. J. Stadelman, 1954. Some factors affecting yield and acceptability of chicken broilers. Poultry Sci. 33:1122-1125. Renard, M. M., 1949. Influence of breeding on the dressing losses of cockerels at 12 weeks of age. Poultry Sci. 28: 781. Slinger, S. J., J. D. McConachie and W. F. Pepper, 1955. The value of animal fat for different strains and crosses of broilers. Poultry Sci. 34: 789-794. Stotts, C. E., and M. I. Darrow, 1952. Yields of edible meat from Cornish crossbreds, nonCornish crossbreds and pure bred broilers. Poultry Sci. 31:937.

The Composition of the Breeder Diet and Blood Clotting in Dams and Chicks* B. E. MARCH, J. BIELY AND S. P. TOUCHBURN Poultry Nutrition Laboratory,^ The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada (Received for publication February 10, 1955)

T

HE diet of the hen is known to influence the clotting ability of chick blood. Almquist and Stokstad (1936) found that to obtain chicks suitable for vitamin K studies it was desirable to restrict the quantity of dried green feed in the breeder ration to 2.5 percent. Cravens et al. (1941) reported that the prothrombin time of day-old chicks depends on the quantity of vitamin K supplied to the dams. According to Dam et al. (1938) only small amounts of vitamin K are stored in the body of the hen and neither does much vitamin K pass into the egg. In the following experiment the effect on prothrombin time of feeding hens various levels of dehydrated alfalfa and de* This research was supported by a grant from Buckerfield's Ltd. t Contribution No. 86.

hydrated cereal grass over a prolonged period of time was studied. The prothrombin time of blood from the newly hatched chicks was also measured. EXPERIMENTAL In the spring of 1953 New Hampshire pullet chicks of the same strain and hatch were fed five different chick starters differing only in their content of dehydrated green feed as follows: Lot 1, no dehydrated green feed; Lot 2, 5 percent dehydrated cereal grass; Lot 3, 5 percent dehydrated alfalfa; Lot 4, 10 percent dehydrated cereal grass; Lot 5, 10 percent dehydrated alfalfa. The chicks were reared in battery brooders until they were six weeks old, when they were transferred to five floor pens. The rations were adjusted at this time to a lower protein

Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of Birmingham on May 31, 2015

strain and sex was significant, with White Cornish giving the highest yield. Yield of edible cooked meat was found to differ significantly among strains both on the basis of live and of chilled dressed weights but was non-significant on the basis of ready-to-cook weight (giblets and necks not included). Sex and diet were found to have no significant effect on yield of cooked edible meat. When graded for finish only, the carcasses of the Cornish, Cornish crosses and a strain of broad breasted New Hampshires were found, in general, to have less finish than was present in non-broad breasted strains.

1097

1098

B. E. MARCH, J. BIELY AND S. P. TOTJCHBURN

TABLE 1.—Composition of experimental diets Percent

Ingredient

36.375 36.375 15.0 4.0 2.0 3.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.25 0.0125

ground yellow corn ground wheat soybean oil meal herring meal meat meal molasses distillers' dried solubles bonemeal limestone iodized salt feeding oil (2,250A-300D) manganese sulphate

level and small amounts of scratch grain fed. When the birds were 24 weeks of age the rations were again modified. The composition of the rations fed from 24 weeks to the end of the experiment is indicated in Table 1. Scratch grain was fed with these rations in approximately equal amount to the mash. The scratch grain fed was a 3:T mixture of whole wheat and whole oats. On the basis of total feed intake the hens received 2.5 and 5 percent of the dehydrated green feeds. Several male chicks were reared and kept with each lot of females throughout the experiment. Prothrombin times were determined on the blood from the breeder hens and on the day-old chicks on the dates indi-

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The average prothrombin times of the blood from the hens in the different lots were similar regardless of whether the ration fed included dehydrated green feed. The hens were almost 2 years old at the time of the last determination. Those hens fed the control ration had at no time since hatching received any form of green feed. It is apparent, therefore, that when laying hens are kept in floor pens the vitamin K. content of the ration is not likely to be critical in so far as the hens themselves are concerned. Boulanger (1952) observed differences in the coagulability of plasma of male and female turkeys during the laying period which were apparently due to a reduction in the prothrombin content of the blood in the males. When, in the present study, there was no evidence of prolonged clotting time in the hens in Pen 1 the above report was considered and the prothrombin times of the blood of males from Pen 1 were accordingly measured. It was found, however, that the prothrombin

TABLE 2.—Average prothrombin times of parent stock

Penl Pen 2 Pen 3 Pen 4 Pen 5

Nov. 22/54—females

Jan.18/55 —females

Jan. 18/55—males

Prothrombin (Number of time determina(seconds) tions)

Prothrombin (Number of time determinations) (seconds)

Prothrombin (Number of time determina(seconds) tions)

30 29 30 30 30

(9) (8) (9) (10) (10)

25 25 26 26 26

IIIII

Date

22

(5)

Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of Birmingham on May 31, 2015

Dehydrated cereal grass and alfalfa were used to replace 5 and 10 percent of com in the above ration. The experimental rations were as follows: Pen 1—control ration Pen 2— 5 % dehydrated cereal grass Pen 3— 5% dehydrated alfalfa Pen 4—10% dehydrated cereal grass Pen 5—10% dehydrated alfalfa

cated in Table 2. Five males from Pen 1 were also tested for comparison with the hens fed the same ration and bled on the same day. Blood was obtained from the wing vein of the hens and from the jugular vein in the chicks. The procedure followed in determining prothrombin time was that outlined by Almquist and Klose (1939).

1099

BLOOD CLOTTING T I M E I N D A M S AND C H I C K S TABLE 3.—Average prothrombin limes of day-old chicks

Date

Pent Pen 2 Pen 3 Pen 4 Pen 5

Sept. 2/54 Prothrombin time (sec.)

No. of det'ns.

73 68 55 49 55

(20) (20) (20) (20) (20)

Sept. 14/54 Prothrombin time (sec.) 75 53

— 46

—•

Jan.20/55

Sept. 29/54

No. of det'ns.

Prothrombin time (sec.)

No. of det'ns.

Prothrombin time (sec.)

No. of det'ns.

(19) (20) (0) (18) (0)

52 41 42 43 40

(20) (18) (19) (17) (19)

43 26 30 26 26

(15) (14) (14) (14) (14)

T h e relative prothrombin times of the blood from the chicks from the different rations varied among hatches. D a m et al. (1938) reported t h a t the hen does not store appreciable amounts of vitamin K. Accordingly it may be assumed t h a t when the breeder diet is deficient or marginal in vitamin K, small variations in the vitamin K content of the ingredients of the rations will quickly be reflected in the amount of carryover to the chick. Likewise seasonal temperature changes, as they influence bacterial synthesis of vitamin K in the litter, m a y be a factor in determining the amount of vitamin K transmitted through the egg to the chick. Tidrick, Joyce a n d Smith (1939) reported t h a t chicks hatched during the summer time and fed a vitamin-deficient ration maintained their prothrombin levels for a longer period of time t h a n those hatched in late fall.

I t is apparent from the results obtained t h a t the prothrombin times of blood from hens provide no information regarding the vitamin K content of the ration. The prothrombin times of newlyhatched chicks, on the other hand, are indicative of the vitamin K content of the diet fed to the dams. SUMMARY Chicks were hatched from dams fed different levels of dehydrated cereal grass and dehydrated alfalfa. T h e prothrombin times of blood from the dams were similar whether or not the ration fed contained dehydrated green feed. The amount of vitamin K supplied to the dams from dehydrated green feed was reflected in the prothrombin times of the blood from the newly-hatched offspring. A level of 2.5 percent of dehydrated green feed in a breeder ration composed of natural ingredients was found to permit only marginal carryover of vitamin K. REFERENCES Almquist, H. J., and A. A. Klose, 1939. Determination of the anti-hemorrhagic vitamin. Biochem. J. 33: 1055-1060. Almquist, H. J., and E. L. R. Stokstad, 1936. Factors influencing the incidence of dietary hemorrhagic disease in chicks. J. Nutrition, 12:329-335. Boulanger, P., 1952. Seasonal changes in the coagulability of the blood of turkeys. Can. J. Comp. Med. Vet. Sci. 16: 222-229. Cravens, W. W., S. B. Randle, C. A. Elvehjem and J. G. Halpin, 1941. Vitamin K studies. 1. Effect

Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of Birmingham on May 31, 2015

time of the blood from the males was similar to t h a t of the hens. The prothrombin times of the day-old chicks, on the other hand, reflected the amount of vitamin K fed to the dams (Table 3). T h e data indicated t h a t the amount of vitamin K supplied by 2.5 percent of dehydrated green feed in a breeder ration m a y be marginal for adequate carryover to the chick. For instance, only in the case of the hatches on Sept. 29/54 and J a n . 19/55 did the chicks from Pens 2 and 4 (2.5 and 5.0 percent dehydrated cereal grass respectively) have similar prothrombin times.

1100

M. P . N A T T AND C. A.

of vitamin K content of the hen's ration on the clotting ability of chick blood. Poultry Sci. 20: 313-316. Dam, H., J. Glavind, L. Lewis and E. Tage-Hansen, 1938. Skand. Arch. Physiol., 79:121. Cited by H.

HERRICK

Dam, Advances in Enzymology, vol. 2, 1942. Interscience Publ. Inc., New York. Tidrick, R. T., F. T. Joyce and H. P. Smith, 1939. Vitamin K deficiency and prothrombin levels. Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 42:853-857.

The Effect of Cecal Coccidiosis on the Blood Cells of the Domestic Fowl

M I C H A E L P. N A T T J AND C H E S T E R A.

HERRICK

Departments of Zoology and Veterinary Science, University of Wisconsin, Madison (Received for publication February 14, 1955)

INTRODUCTION

O

N E of the more noticeable manifestations of cecal coccidiosis is the hemorrhage t h a t results when chickens become severely infected with the disease. Because the disease has such pronounced effect on the chickens, various studies have been carried out to explain the physiological changes t h a t occur in the infected animal. Edgar (1944) in his study on the life cycle of the sporozoan parasite, Eimeria tenella, the causal organism, substantiated the findings of Tyzzer (1929) and others who observed t h a t the hemorrhage begins in the infected cecal mucosa when the secondgeneration merozoites approach maturity. Edgar (1944) suggests t h a t the hemorrhage is the result of the pinching off of * Published with the permission of the Director of the Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station. Supported in part by the Research Committee of the Graduate School from funds supplied by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. Department of Veterinary Science Publication No. 152. t Present address: Eaton Laboratories, Norwich, New York.

mucosal capillaries b y pressure resulting from the enlargement of epithelial cells in which the intracellular parasitic development (schizogony) has been taking place. Late in the fourth day and during the fifth day of infection, the second-generation merozoites are discharged from the infected epithelial cells. Concomitant with the liberation of the merozoites, large areas of the mucosa are sloughed off, with considerable amounts of blood being discharged into the lumen of the cecum, the process continuing through the fifth and p a r t of the sixth day of infection. I t would appear logical because of the hemorrhage, t h a t attention be directed to the various constituents of the blood. P r a t t (1940) showed t h a t , starting late on the fourth day a n d during the fifth d a y of infection, there is a rise in blood sugar. Waxier (1941a), who confirmed P r a t t ' s work, reported a marked rise in blood chlorides beginning on the fifth day of the infection. I n order to ascertain the intensity of infection in further studies, Herrick (unpublished) a n d Waxier

Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of Birmingham on May 31, 2015

I. A COMPARISON OF T H E CHANGES I N T H E E R Y T H R O C Y T E COUNT RESULTING FROM HEMORRHAGE IN I N F E C T E D AND M E C H A N I C A L L Y B L E D B I R D S . T H E USE O F T H E H E M A T O C R I T VALUE AS A N I N D E X O F T H E S E V E R I T Y O F T H E HEMORRHAGE RESULTING FROM THE INFECTION*