The Utilization of Food Elements by Growing Chicks

The Utilization of Food Elements by Growing Chicks XIV. EFFECT OF THE ADDITION OF VITAMIN B12 AND ANTIBIOTIC* C . W . ACKERSON, R . L . BORCHERS AND F . E . MUSSEHL Departments of Agricultural Chemistry and Poultry Husbandry, University of Nebraska, Lincoln (Received for publication April 3, 1952)

HE use of vitamin B12 concentrates in chick feeding was reviewed by Reed and Couch (1951) who reported a decided increase in the weight of chicks fed up to 2 percent of the concentrate in the diet over that obtained in the controls. This increase was evident on both plant and animal protein rations. In another trial different concentrates failed to produce a response on a plant protein diet. Simultaneous feeding of the two contrates produced results which agreed with the earlier trials. The difference in the response to the two concentrates was considered to be due, at least in part, to differences in their antibiotic content. Scott and Glista (1950) studied the effect of additions of aureomycin on the growth of chicks and found only a slight early advantage when the ration was fed ad libitum and no response when feed intake was equalized. Patrick (1951) reared poults on wire and found that vitamin B12 failed to supplement an all-vegetable protein ration. He noted that antibiotic feeding can result in growth stimulation but that the degree of stimulation cannot be predicted. Davis and Briggs (1951) noted chick growth stimulation with antibiotics in most cases on a corn-soybean ration, but * Published with the approval of the Director as Paper No. 558, Journal Series, Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station.

not in all cases. They found no indication that growth stimulation occurred as a simple manifestation of increased feed consumption. It is noted that their last two experiments were run in new quarters and that these tests uniformly failed to show any growth stimulation. In earlier work Briggs, Hill and Giles (1950) stated that normal chicks may be raised efficiently to 16 weeks of age with an all vegetable corn-soybean meal ration supplemented with B!2, riboflavin, vitamins A and D, and minerals. It is becoming increasingly evident that uniform growth responses are not being obtained on feeding antibiotics to chicks. Recently Biely and March (1951) stated that adding aureomycin to a chick ration containing vitamins at levels above those recommended by the National Research Council produced no increase in the growth rate. They also presented data to show that dietary levels of nicotinic acid, folic acid, or riboflavin that are suboptimal for maximum growth under normal conditions may be adequate when aureomycin is fed. At the Nebraska Station, vitamin B12 and supplements containing aureomycin, streptomycin, bacitracin and penicillin have stimulated growth of chicks raised on built up litter. In order to compare the effect of additions of vitamin B12 and antibiotic factors to diets for growing chicks when the feed intake was

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T

1024

C. W. ACKERSON, R. L. BORCHERS AND F. E. MUSSEHL TABLE 1.—Ingredients of the rations Ingredients

Yellow corn Wheat middlings Soybean oil meal Dehydrated alfalfa meal «Meat and bone meal Corn gluten meal Dried whey Fish meal Super trate Calcium carbonate Sodium chloride Vitamin pre-mix 1 B n and antibiotic pre-mix ! 25 percent choline dry mix

— —

lbs. 39 20 12.5 5 5 5 3 2 2 2 1 1 2.5

— 100

C

D

lbs. 54

lbs. 54

— — 31.4 28.9 5

5

— 5 — — — 2

—5 — — —2

1 1 — 0.6 100

Vitamin pre-mix Merck's 58-A Vitamins Fee-Dri Soybean oil meal Vitamin B » and antibiotic pre- mix Lederle's Feeding Supplement N o . 5 Soybean oil meal

1 1 2.5 0.6 100

1 part 2 parts 7 parts 1 part 9 parts

exactly known, two rations were mixed. One contained some protein from animal sources and the other did not. These diets were divided and Lederle's Feeding Supplement no. 5 was added at the usually recommended level to half of each ration, making four rations (A, B, C, and D) in all. These rations were mixed as shown in Table 1 and their chemical analyses are given in Table 2. It is to be noted that rations B and D carried the vitamin Bi2 and antibiotic additions in the premix. The chicks used were day old New Hampshires and 100 were divided into four lots so that each lot had chicks of comparable weights, which incidentally varied from 35 to 47 g. Each lot was hopper fed its experimental ration for four days. At the end of this time they were weighed and 16 of the strongest chicks of

Each chick was given all the pelleted feed it would consume four times daily until each consumed 900 g., at which time it was held over until the following morning. Then the live empty weight was noted and the chick killed by ether. After chilling, the contents of the digestive tract were removed and the net weight of the chick then obtained. The carcass was next placed in a tall form liter beaker, covered with hydrochloric acid and digested in a steam bath. After this action was completed the fat, was removed mechanically after hardening in the deep freeze. This permits the estimation of the fat after only a little more handling since the rest of the digest remains liquid while the fat congeals. The digest is made to volume for estimation of nitrogen, calcium and phosphorus. These elements were run on individual chicks. Using

TABLE 2.—Composition of the rations as fed

Ration

Moisture

A B C D

11.6 11.6 11.6 11.9

%

Ash

%

7.1 7.0 5.6 5.7

Crude fat

%

4.3 4.5 4.2 4.3

Crude fiber

%

4.0 4.0 4.4 4.3

Crude protein

%

21.9 21.9 22.3 22.1

« £ * » extrac).

%

51.1 51.0 51.9 51.7

C a H u m

% 1.5 1.5 0.8 0.8

Phosphorus

%

0.65 0.65 0.47 0.46

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2

B

100

Totals 1

A lbs. 39 20 15 5 5 5 3 2 2 2 1 1

each lot were placed at random in the individual compartments of the battery. From this time on the experimental diets were given in a quantitative fashion by means of the feeding technique described in earlier papers (Ackerson et al., 1938, 1951). This feeding was facilitated by pelleting the feed so that any spilled could be retrieved and fed again. Each chick was allowed to eat ad libitum four times daily. Water was before the chicks at all times. One chick died in lot A but the cause of death could not be ascertained. At death it weighed the same as the other chicks. The chicks were brooded on wire with excellent sanitation.

UTILIZATION OF FOOD ELEMENTS BY GROWING CHICKS

Since a possibility existed that the pelleting process had impaired the antibiotic or B12 value of the ration the above lots were replicated, and in addition comparable lots were run on the floor on built-up litter. The rations were mixed as indicated in Table 1 and their analyses were almost identical with those shown in Table 2. The lots in the individual cages were reared as in the previous trial. In this trial net weights and gains were noted and feed efficiency calculated as shown. In Table 4 there were no significant weight differences due to B12 or antibiotic additions. Lots fed rations A and B made slightly better gains than C and D on plant proteins. In the secon.d trial this difference did not appear. The rate of gain was greater in the second trial than in the first run. Both lots were New Hampshires; the first lots were run in April and the second in October. At the same time as the second trial was run in the individual cages similar

TABLE

3.-

-Summary of growth and analytical data on chicks, trial 1 Males

Lot A

No. of males in lot Net weight, g. Gain in weight, g. Gain per g. eaten, g. Crude fat, % Ratio, Ca: P in gain Nitrogen retained, % Calcium retained, % Phosphorus retained, '7o

9 424 382

No. of females in lot Net weight, g. Gain in weight, g. Gain per g. eaten, g. Crude fat, % Ratio, Ca:P in gain Nitrogen retained, % Calcium retained, % Phosphorus retained, %

6 422 382

B

D

C 8 403 359

8 439 397

8 411 369

0.42

0.44

0.40

0.41

1.58 39.7 27.8 40.5

1.64 41.5 28.4 40.0

1.71 36.8 48.9 48.4

1.58 37.5 47.5 51.0

4.7

4.9

5.0

5.1

Females 8 424 382

8 410 369

8 400 359

0.42

0.42

0.40

0.41

1.67 39.3 27.3 37.8

1.65 39.6 27.9 39.0

1.62 36.4 48.9 51.3

1.69 37.9 47.8 48.0

6.2

5.5

5.3

5.8

T A B L E 4 —-Summary

of growthi data on chicks, trial 2 Males

Ration No. in lot Weight, g. Gain in weight, g. Gain per g. eaten, g;.

10 472 434

c

B

A

8 476 438

9 469 431

0.48

0.48

0.49

D 10 478 440

0.49

Females No. in lot Weight, g. Gain in weight, g. Gain per g. fed, g.

6 463 425

7 447 409

0.47

0.46

8 454 416

0.46

T A B L E S.—Summary of growth data on brooded on built-up litter, trial 2 Ration

A

B

c

6 467 429

0.47 chicks

D

40 27 49 40 No. of males 441 429 456 525 Av. wt. at 5 wks., g. 36 49 25 36 No. of females 351 380 394 439 Av. wt. at 5 wks., g. 939 947 Av. feed eaten, g. 1,070 1, 109 Av. gain per g. fed, g. 0.38 0.38 0.40 0.36 Av. wt. at 8 wks., 907 1,002 males, g. 998 1, 124 Av. wt. at 8 wks., 773 794 793 878 females, g. 2,420 2 ,360 Av. feed eaten, g. 2,670 2,760 0.33 0.36 Av. gain per g. fed, g. 0.33 0.36

lots were reared in a brooder house on built up litter. These lots were weighed at 5 and 8 weeks and food intake records maintained as accurately as possible. The average weight by lot and sex, together with feed intakes and gains per gram fed are presented in Table 5. These lots are comparable to those fed rations A, B, C, and D of Table 4. In the latter each chick

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values obtained in earlier work (Ackerson et al., 1938), of 0.95 g. for nitrogen, 0.15 g. for calcium and 0.11 g. for phosphorus to represent the average content of these elements in day old chicks the utilization of the above elements ingested was calculated. The average utilization by sex is given for each lot in Table 3. The data show no differences in utilization of nitrogen, calcium or phosphorus due to the addition of B12 and antibiotic to either of the rations. The nitrogen of rations C and D was not utilized as well as that in A and B. The latter contained protein from animal sources. The calcium and phosphorus were utilized to a greater extent percentage-wise from rations C and D. This is due to the lower content of these elements in the rations as mixed. It was noted that the ratio of calcium to phosphorus in the gain was the same regardless of the original content of each in the ration.

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C . W . ACKERSON, R . L . BORCHERS AND F . E . MuSSEHL

tions with animal protein showed up better than the vegetable diet. The B12 plus aureomycin lot showed an increase over the control at both the 5 and 8 week weights on the animal protein diets. On the vegetable protein diet this increase was not marked until the eighth week. The efficiency of gain was significantly higher in all lots reared in individual cages as compared with those on built-up litter. CONCLUSIONS The feeding of vitamin B12 and aureomycin did not enhance the gains that resulted from the consumption of 900 grams of feed per chick from hatching to the approximate age of 5 weeks when raised on wire screens. When identical rations were fed to chicks raised on built-up litter the combination of B12 and aureomycin increased the growth rate at 8 weeks. REFERENCES Ackerson, C. W., M. J.Blish and F. E.Mussehl, 1938. The utilization of food elements by growing chicks. V. A comparison of cottonseed meal and linseed oil meal as portions of the protein concentrate. Univ. of Nebraska Agri. Expt. Sta. Res. Bull. 100. Ackerson, C. W., R. L. Borchers and F . E. Mussehl, 1951. Utilization of food elements by growing chicks. XIII. The effect of additions of dehydrated alfalfa meal to high corn chick rations. Univ. of Nebraska Agri. Expt. Sta. Res. Bull. 168. Biely, J., and B. March, 1951. The effect of aureomycin and vitamins on the growth rate of chicks. Science 114: 330-331. Briggs, G. M., E . G. Hill and M . J. Giles, 1950. Vitamin B12 in all-plant rations for chicks and sparing activity of methionine and choline. Poultry Sci. 29: 723-736. Davis, R. L., and G. M. Briggs, 1951. Studies with antibiotic in* chick and poult starting rations. Poultry Sci. 30: 767-771. Patrick, H., 1951. Vitamin B12 and antibiotics in turkey poult nutrition. Poultry Sci. 30:549-551. Reed, J. R., and J. R. Couch, 1951. The efficacy of different APF concentrates for chicks. Poultry Sci. 29: 897-902. Scott, H. M., and W. A. Glista, 1950. The effect of aureomycin and arsonic acid on chick growth. Poultry Sci. 29:921-923.

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was weighed off as it finished 900 g. of feed; in the former they were weighed at 5 weeks, which was the average for the other lots also. The lots fed on the floor ate more feed but weighed less than the lots fed individually with the exception of the lot fed ration B. In all cases the rates of gain of the floor raised lots were lower. At 5 weeks of age the lot fed ration B gained more than the lot fed ration A, indicating a stimulation due to the B J2 or antibiotic. This effect was not apparent at 5 weeks on the C and D rations mixed from plant sources. All lots were continued to 8 weeks at which times the stimulation noted at five weeks on ration B was more marked than at 5 weeks. At 8 weeks there was a growth stimulation in lot D over C. SUMMARY Two attempts were made to assess the value of vitamin B12 and aureomycin in chick rations. Duplicate lots were run using rations made with and without protein from animal sources and with and without additions of B12 and aureomycin. Comparisons were made between lots raised in individual cages and on built-up litter on the floor. In two experiments chicks that were 4 days old were placed in individual cages and fed the experimental diets until each chick had consumed 900 grams. The chicks were terminated individually when the prescribed quantity of feed had been consumed. In the first trial the lots with animal protein gained slightly more than the vegetable protein lots, but no increased growth resulted from the feeding of B12 and aureomycin. In the second trial with 4 lots in individual cages there were no differences in gains with B12 and aureomycin feeding, nor was a difference detected between animal and vegetable diets. When these same rations were fed to chicks reared on built-up litter the ra-