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Significance of Dietary Zinc for the Growing Chicken¹

Departments of Agricultural Chemistry and Poultry Husbandry, University of Missouri, Columbia

Broiler strain chicks were maintained on a zinc-deficient diet (15 p.p.m.) for periods of 4 or 6 weeks. In part of the trials the chicks were kept in galvanized batteries and they developed mild symptoms of a zinc deficiency. In other trials the batteries were coated with lacquer and the chicks developed severe deficiency symptoms.

The symptoms of a mild deficiency included slow growth, shortening and thickening of the long bones, development of frizzled feathers, an abnormal respiration and an unsteady gait.

The more severely depleted chicks exhibited these same symptoms but to a greater degree and, in addition, developed a keratosis of the skin and an increased packed red cell volume. Microscopically there was evidence of parakeratosis in the esophagus and of poor calcification of the bone. There also appeared to be a failure of cartilage cell development in the epiphyseal plate region of the long bones and decreased osteoblastic activity in the thin bony collar.

The zinc requirement of chicks fed 1.6% of calicum, 0.7% of phosphorus and maintained in lacquered batteries was estimated to be 35 p.p.m. This requirement was decreased slightly by lowering the calcium to 1.1%, but did not appear to be increased by 2.1% of calcium. In the presence of adequate zinc the chicks grew equally well at all calcium levels.

The addition of the ash equivalent to 5% of dried distillers' solubles to a diet that contained adequate zinc did not improve the rate of gain significantly.

Manuscript received 11 March 1958.

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