Vitamin Supplements and Squab Production*

762

F. T. SHULTZ, C. R. GRAU AND P. A. ZWEIGART

s u p p l e m e n t , c r u d e p r o c a i n e p e n i c i l l i n G, n i a c i n a n d s u l f a q u i n o x a l i n e u s e d in t h i s work. REFERENCES

Vitamin Supplements and Squab Production* FRED T. SHULTZ, C. R. GRAU AND PHYLLIS A. ZWEIGART Department of Poidtry Husbandry, University of California, Berkeley (Received for publication January 12. 1953)

. INTRODUCTION

T

HE ration used almost exclusively in the commercial squab industry consists of whole grains and peas plus a grit and mineral mixture. Although such rations allow fairly good reproduction, they are not well supplied with certain vitamins that are known to be important for reproduction in the fowl. Many ingredients have been added to the grit and mineral mixture, most of which are of dubi-

* This experiment was carried out at the Weaver Squab Farm, San Jose, California, whose cooperation is gratefully acknowledged.

ous value as indicated by the limited experiment of Piatt (1951). However, no reports on the value in squab production of nutrients commonly considered important for other types of poultry have appeared in the literature. EXPERIMENTAL

Three strains of commercial White King pigeons differing in age and production characteristics were used. Strain A consisted of old birds producing large squabs at a relatively low rate. Strain B consisted of young birds which had come into production two months prior to the start

Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at East Tennessee State University on June 19, 2015

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., 1946. Nicotinic acid deficiency in turkey poults and the occurrence of perosis. J. Nutrition, 31:79-84. Coates, M. E., C. D. Dickinson, G. F. Harrison and S. K. Kon, 1951. The effect of antibiotics on the growth of chicks deprived of vitamins of the B complex. Biochem. J. 49: Proc. Ixviii-lxix. Jukes, T. H., E. L. R. Stokstad and M. Belt, 1947. 1947. Deficiencies of certain vitamins as studied with turkey poults on a purified diet. 1. Pteroylglutamic acid, riboflavin, niacin and inositol. J. Nutrition, 33: 1-12. Krehl, W. A., F. M. Strong and C. A. Elvehjem, 1943. Determination of nicotinic acid. Modifications in the microbiological method. Ind. Eng. Chem., Anal. Ed. 15: 471-475. Nelson, T. S., and H. M. Scott, 1952. The effect of antibiotics and type of carbohydrate on the dietary niacin requirement of the chick. Poultry Sci. 31:929.

Pepper, W. F., 1952. The influence of aureomycin on the interrelationship between manganese and salt. M.S.A. Thesis, University of Toronto. Pepper, W. F., S. J. Slinger and I. Motzok, 1953. Effect of aureomycin on the niacin and manganese requirements of chicks. Poultry Sci. 32: 656660. Scott, M. L., 1952. Prevention of enlarged hock disease in turkeys and ducks. Proceeding of the Cornell Nutrition Conference for Feed Manufacturers: pp. 87-91. Slinger, S. J., A. M. Morphet, K. M. Gartley and D. Arthur, 1952. Effect of penicillin on the growth of turkeys fed diets of varying protein content. Poultry Sci. 31:881-887. Slinger, S. J., A. M. Morphet, E. C. Hunt and W. F. Pepper, 1953a. Effect of penicillin on the reproductive performance of turkeys. Poultry Sci. 32: 660-669. Slinger, S. J., I. Motzok and W. F. Pepper, 1951. The effect of salt, manganese and A.P.F. supplements on growth and bone formation in poults. Poultry Sci. 30:153-156. Slinger, S. J., E. S. Snyder and W. F. Pepper, 1953b. Effect of penicillin on the growth of goslings. Poultry Sci. 32: 396-400. Snedecor, G. W., 1946. Statistical Methods. The Iowa State College Press, Fourth Edition, pp. 214-226, 406-407.

763

VITAMIN SUPPLEMENTS FOR SQUABS TABLE 1.—Experimental design. Number of pens (35 pairs per pen) on each diet from each strain

TABLE 2.—Expected order of superiority of diets within each strain for various vitamins or combinations of vitamins which may have beneficial ejfects. Note that the experimental design shown in Table 1 allows for a unique solution whether one or any combination of vitamins is effective Strain

Vitamin or 1 Basal 2 Basal+A+D 3 Basal+A+D+riboflavin 4 Basal+A+D+riboflavin+Bi2

1 1

2 2 2

2 2

3 3 4 2

*4-nv»i«n

n/.n.i.v.a'l

to be beneficial A+D Riboflavin Bj2

of the feeding trial. There birds produced squabs almost as large as those from strain A but at a higher rate. Strain C consisted of old birds producing relatively small squabs at a rate intermediate to strains A and B. Due to the differences between these strains, all comparisons between diets were made within strains. Birds were housed in pens containing 35 pairs each. Six, four, and two pens of strains A, B, and C, respectively, were available for the experiment. Although it was originally planned to test separately the effects of four supplements: vitamin A, vitamin D, riboflavin, and vitamin Bi2, the experimental design necessitated combination of vitamins A and D. The treatments used and the design of the experiment are shown in Table 1. Pens within each strain were assigned the treatments at random. Assuming that any effects of these vitamins are of an additive nature, this design allows for a unique solution whether none, one, or any combination of supplements should prove beneficial (Table 2). Also, there are replications for all comparisons except the one testing the effects of vitamin A plus D alone. All pens of a particular strain were housed in adjacent parts of the loft. Except for the diets, management was the same for all pens. No culling was done

B

C

3=4>1 3=4>1 4>3 = 1 3= 4>1 4>3>1 4>3>1 4>3>1

2= 3 3>2 2= 3 3>2 2= 3 3>2 3>2

2>1 2= 1 2= 1 2>1 2>1 2= 1 2>1

until the close of the experiment at which time the poorest producing pairs were removed. The number of pairs culled at this time is shown in Table 3. The basal diet, enough of which was mixed prior to the experiment to last for six months, consisted of a mixture of four whole grains in the following proportions: sweet corn, 40%; kafir and milo, 30%; green wrinkled peas, 20%; and wheat, 10%. The levels at which the supplements 1 were added (per pound of feed) were: molasses 1.14 gm.; vitamin A, 2,280 I.U.; vitamin D3, 428 International chick units; riboflavin, 1 mg.; vitamin Bi2, 3.44 meg. The cane molasses, which was used to bind the vitamin supplements to the whole grains, was also added to the basal diet. The final diet was mixed in sufficient amounts to last one to three weeks in order to minimize deteriorations of the supplements. All diets were fed ad libitum in self-feeders designed to allow little feed wastage. In addition to the supplemented grains, a grit mixture similar to that of Lee and Haynes (1942) containing limestone, oyster shell, bone meal, iodized salt, and iron oxide was fed ad lib. 1 Generous supplies of the supplements were provided by Pacific Molasses Co., Ltd.; Merck and Co., Inc.; Nopco Chemical Co.; Dawe's Products Co; and Van Waters and Rogers, Inc.

Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at East Tennessee State University on June 19, 2015

12

A + D , riboflavin A + D , B I2 Riboflavin, B12 A + D , Riboflavin, B12

A

764

F. T. SHULTZ, C. R. GRAU AND P. A. ZWEIGART

TABLE 3.—Number of squabs marketed from each pen (35 pairs) and the total for each diet within strains. The birds were fed the experimental diets July to December inclusive Month Strain

Diet

Pen April M a y J u n e July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov.

A

C

Number of pairs culled in January

2-2 2-6 Total

33 42 75

35 38 73

38 27 65

33 27 60

26 33 59

27 27 54

12 21 33

10 9 19

15 11 26

13 3 16

16 19 35

23 21 44

136 131 267

10 12 22

Basal+A+D + riboflavin

2-3 2-5 Total

30 43 73

26 29 55

30 34 64

19 38 57

34 32 66

34 33 67

22 28 50

8 6 14

32 23 55

18 10 28

20 19 39

22 24 46

167 170 337

8 14 22

Basal+A+D + Riboflavin+Bu

2-1 2-4 Total

29 27 56

32 32 64

28 22 50

39 40 79

22 34 56

26 35 61

22 33 55

20 20 40

19 17 36

27 27 54

9 15 24

25 18 43

175 206 381

10 2 12

Basal+A+D

1-2 1-4 Total

—

13 17 30

22 25 47

35 43 78

50 34 84

41 42 83

40 43 83

13 17 30

36 27 63

38 21 59

17 27 44

44 41 85

253 227 480

0 1 1

Basal+A+D + riboflavin

1-1 1-3 Total

=

16 21 37

22 24 46

45 49 94

52 55 107

44 46 90

38 36 74

26 24 50

31 37 68

38 37 75

25 27 52

43 38 81

274 284 558

1 0 1

32 37

38 36

38 29

35 34

47 39

39 41

30 18

22 17

35 26

12 27

23 34

246 204

5 8

Basal Basal+A+D

3-1 3-2

9 8

The supplemented diets were fed from July to December inclusive, 1951. Prior to the start of the experiment, all pens were on the basal grain mixture only. At the end of the experimental period, all pens were returned to the basal grain mixture alone until March when the diet of all pens was supplemented with vitamins A and D, riboflavin, and vitamin B12. Records for each pair were kept as follows: number of eggs laid, hatchability of all eggs laid, number of squabs marketed, and the dressed weight (blood and feathers removed) of each squab at approximately 28 days of age. Some young birds from strains A and B were saved for replacements. Live weights of these squabs were recorded on the appropriate killing date and a correction factor was applied to obtain an estimate of the dressed weight. Because squabs were marketed twice weekly, the various months do not have equal numbers of killing days. RESULTS Table 3 shows the number of squabs marketed from each pen each month. The

addition of vitamins A and D to the basal diet apparently did not affect squab number in strain C (Table 3). Unfortunately, replications of pens within diets were lacking for this comparison. The addition of riboflavin appears to have increased noticeably the squab number in both strain A and strain B (Table 3, Figures 1 and 2). The effect was still evident in the first month (January) following the supplemented period, but the effect had disappeared by March. The addition of vitamin B i2 also appears to have been helpful. Note that the order of superiority of the various diets within strains allows the solution shown by the next to last line in Table 2; namely that riboflavin and vitamin B12 have beneficial effects. Squab number, defined as the number of squabs marketed during the six months of supplementation plus one month following this period, was analyzed by analysis of variance. The difference between pens within diets within strains was not significant, the between pen mean square actually being smaller (and hence the difference between pens assumed to be zero) than the within pen mean square. Hence,

Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at East Tennessee State University on June 19, 2015

B

Basal

Dec.. J a n . Feb.. M a r c h

Total JulyJan, incl.

VITAMIN SUPPLEMENTS FOR SQUABS

765

100 Basal Basal+A + D + Riboflavin —'••BasaltA + O + Riboflavin + B12

9

10

II

MONTH FIG. 1. Squabs produced each month from strain A. Two pens of 35 pairs each on each diet.

for the remainder of the analysis, the between pen mean square was pooled with the within pen mean square and called the within diet mean square. The results of the test of the variance ratio from the between and within diet mean squares are given in Table 4. The effects of riboflavin in strains A and B were significant at the 5 and 1 percent levels, respectively. The effect of vitamin B i2 (strain A) was not significant. Table 5 shows the mean number of eggs laid per pair, the percent hatchability of all eggs laid, and the percent livability of squabs to 28 days. The records on some of the pairs culled at the end of the exTABLE 4.—Analyses of variance of squabs marketed

during the six months of supplementation plus one month following this period. The difference between pens was found not to be significant and hence is pooled with the within pen variance. 70 pairs on each diet Source of variation

df.

Mean square

Level of significance

Strain A. Basal vs. basaH-A+D+riboflavin Between diets 1 34.00 4.70 .05 Within diets 138 7.23 Strain A. Basal+A+D+riboflavin vs. basal+A+D riboflavin+Bu Between diets 1 14.00 1.52 not significant Within diets 138 9.22 Strain B. Basal+A+D vs. basal+A+D+riboflavin Betweendiets 1 43.00 6.92 .01 Within diets 138 6.21

periment were lost. The number of pairs for which records were available are shown in Table 5. There were no differences among diets in the number of eggs laid. Supplementation of the basal diet with riboflavin increased the hatchability 11 percent in strain A, and 8 percent in strain B. Vitamin Bi2-supplementation resulted in an additional three percent difference. A difference of three or four percent in livability between basal and riboflavin supplemented diets also was apparent. Squab weight was not affected by the supplements. DISCUSSION That riboflavin had beneficial effects on squab number is shown by the significant differences between the basal and supplemented diets in both of the strains used in this experiment. In strain A, riboflavin supplementation allowed each pair to produce an increase of 1.9 marketable squabs per pair per year; in strain B the increase was 1.7 squabs. Vitamin B12 appeared to have had a beneficial effect on squab number (1.1 squabs per year), although the effects were not statistically significant.

Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at East Tennessee State University on June 19, 2015

8

766

F. T. SHULTZ, C. R. GRAU AND P. A. ZWEIGART

12a -Bosal + A + D • Basal+A + D+Riboftavin

10

MONTH FIG. 2. Squabs produced each month from strain B. Two pens of 35 pairs each on each diet.

A large portion of the increase in squab number resulted from an increase in hatchability (Table 5). Thus the differences in hatchability between the basal and riboflavin-supplemented diets were 11 and 8 percent in strains A and B, respectively. Vitamin B i2 resulted in a further increase of three percent. An increase in livability by the addition of riboflavin (but not by vitamin B12) resulting in a difference of 3 or 4 percent between the basal (diet 3 in Table 1) and supplemented diet also contributed to the greater number of squabs marketed from the pens fed the supplemented diets. Although it might reasonably be expected that a greater number of squabs surviving to market age would result in fewer clutches, there were no differences between diets in number of eggs laid. It should also be noted that more records of egg production, hatchability, and livability were lost from culled pairs in the pens on the basal diets than on the riboflavinsupplemented diets (Table 5). Thus the

observed differences are probably minimal ones. Squab number in all pens was highest during the late spring months and lowest during the fall and winter months when the adult birds were going through the molt. Squab weight, on the other hand, was highest when squab number was lowest, indicating a negative correlation between number and weight. When considering the differences between diets, however, it should be noted that even though the rate of production was increased considerably by the addition of riboflavin and B12, no decrease in squab weight attributable to this cause occurred in the supplemented pens. That is, the addition of these vitamins to the diet increased squab number without decreasing squab weight. The addition of vitamins A and D did not add to either squab number or weight. I t should be pointed out, however, that the birds had access to sunlight, and that the diet contained green peas.

Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at East Tennessee State University on June 19, 2015

9

767

VITAMIN SUPPLEMENTS EOR SQUABS

TABLE 5.—Production records for individual pens and diets for six-month period beginning and ending IS days after the beginning and ending of the period of supplementation. Includes all eggs whose hatching date fell within the period. Records on some of pairs culled at end of experiment were lost

Strain A

Diet

Pen

Mean

WriLl natcned

alive a t

e

2g days

per pair

SS s

set

% Hatchability

% Viability

25 30 55

184 176 360

112 106 218

104 98 202

7.36 5.87 6.54

60.9 60.2 60.6

92.8 92.4 92.7

Basal+A+D+ Ribofiavin

2-3 2-5

31 32 63

188 190 378

142 129 271

135 124 259

6.06 5.94 6.30

75.5 ' 67.9 71.7

95.1 96.1 95.6

Basal+A+D +

2-1 2-4

27 31 58

186 208 394

126 168 294

117 163 280

6.89 6.71 6.79

67.7 80.8 74.6

92.8 97.0 95.2

Basal+A+D

1-2 1-4

31 29 60

250 249 499

193 197 390

184 178 362

8.06 8.59 8.32

77.2 79.1 78.2

95.3 90.4 92.8

Basal+A+D+ Riboflavin

1-1 1-3

34 33 67

276 271 547

237 237 474

233 225 458

8.12 8.21 8.16

85.9 87.4 86.6

98.3 94.9 96.6

Basal Basal+A+D

3-1 3-2

34 31

262 238

213 174

197 166

7.70 7.68

81.3 73.1

92.5 95.4

Although reasonably clear-cut results were obtained here, several faults in experimental design should be pointed out as an aid to future experimenters in this field. 1. There was no replication for the test of vitamins A plus D. Although the between-pen differences in strains A and B were small (if present at all), this might not always be true. More replications, preferably of latin square design, would be desirable. 2. The effects of the supplements may not be additive. The experimental design should allow for the test against the basal ration of each vitamin separately as well as in all possible combinations. 3. Due. to seasonal fluctuations in squab production, supplements may be more advantageous at certain times of the year. Tests of 12 months duration would be more enlightening. 4. More pairs and longer trials may be needed' to obtain statistical verification of

small differences between diets. The present data were sufficient for riboflavin but not for vitamin Bi2, even though the effects of the latter vitamin appear to be substantial. SUMMARY

1. The effects of vitamin A plus vitamin D, riboflavin, and vitamin Bi2 on number of marketable squabs and squab weight at market age were investigated utilizing 12 pens of 35 pairs of pigeons each. 2. Supplementation with riboflavin increased squab number significantly. 3. Vitamin Bi2 appeared to have had a beneficial effect on squab number although the data were not statistically significant. 4. Most of the increase in squab number was due to an increase in hatchability, which was apparent in both riboflavin and vitamin Bi2-supplemented groups. Some of the increase in squab number from

Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at East Tennessee State University on June 19, 2015

2-2 2-6

B12

C

Squabs

Eggs set

Basal

Riboflavin+ B

p.

Number of pairs

768

B. MARCH AND J. BIELY

riboflavin supplementation was due to an increase in livability, but vitamin B i2 had no such effect. There were no differences in the number of eggs laid. 5. Squab weight was not affected consistently by the diets. 6. When the diet contained green peas and the pigeons were exposed to sunlight, the supplement containing vitamin A and

D had no effect. 7. Certain inadequacies of the experimental design are discussed. REFERENCES Lee, A. R., and S. K. Haynes, 1942. Squab raising. U. S. Dept. Agric. Farmers' Bull. 634. Piatt, C. S., 1951. A study of the composition of mineral mixtures for pigeons. Poultry Sci. 30: 196-198.

B. MARCH AND J. BIELY

Poultry Nutrition Laboratory, f The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada (Received for publication January 20, 1953)

I

that administration of sulphasuxidine eliminated the increase of folic acid liver storage produced by vitamin C. These investigators also reported that when chicks were injected with vitamin C there was no effect on growth, liver storage, or caecal concentration of folic acid. The effect of feeding ascorbic acid to chicks fed practical type rations adequate and deficient in folic acid has been determined in the following experiments. In contrast to studies hitherto reported regarding ascorbic acid in chick nutrition, the rations employed in the present study were composed chiefly of natural ingredients. In biological assays for folic acid using the chick as test animal Bliss and Gyorgy (1951) recommend that p-aminobenzoic acid be omitted from synthetic test diets because it may interfere with the response of the chick to graded levels of folic acid. I t is highly probable that the effect of p-aminobenzoic acid in this respect is due to the action on the intestinal microflora. * This project was carried out with the financial Several lots of chicks in the following assistance of The University of British Columbia experiments have been fed an antibiotic President's Committee on Research. as well as p-aminobenzoic acid and/or t Contribrition No. 76

T IS generally recognized that under normal conditions the chick does not have a dietary requirement for ascorbic acid. It has been found, however, that ascorbic acid may have a slight stimulatory effect on the rate of growth of chicks fed purified diets. Dietrich et al. (1949) reported that the effect of vitamin Bi2 on growth of chicks was enhanced by ascorbic acid and the amount of folic acid stored in the liver was higher when vitamin B12 and ascorbic acid were given together than with vitamin B12 alone. Briggs et al. (1944) suggested that, when chicks are fed a highly purified diet, they are not able to synthesize sufficient ascorbic acid to permit maximum growth. They also suggested that the action of ascorbic acid may be indirect involving utilization of other nutrients or stimulating microbial synthesis of vitamins in the intestine of the chick. Support for this latter view was offered by Dietrich, Monson and Elvehjem (1950) who found

Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at East Tennessee State University on June 19, 2015

The Effect of Ascorbic Acid on the Growth Rate of Chicks*