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Effect of Intestinal Damage Produced by Eimeria necatrix Infection in Chicks upon Absorption of Orally Administered Zinc-65^1,2,

Department of Poultry Science, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina

To study the effects of damage to the middle area of the intestine upon nutrient absorption, 3 trials were conducted in which the absorption of orally administered ⁶⁵Zn into the blood stream was determined in birds infected with Eimeria necatrix. Absorption rates were followed from one day post-inoculation until 35 days post-inoculation. In chicks severely infected with coccidiosis, absorption rates exceeded those of uninfected birds on the first day post-infection, decreased on the third day, decreased severely by the sixth day, and afterward began to return to levels observed in uninfected birds. By 21 days post-inoculation, absorption rates were near control levels, and at 28 and 35 days post-inoculation, absorption rates were much greater than control levels. Mild intestinal damage with slight inflammation was found to increase absorption, whereas severe damage and hemorrhaging decreased or stopped absorption. This absorption pattern explains the observations, previously reported, of nutrient deficiency symptoms appearing in chicks early in a coccidial attack, and of increased growth rates occurring during the recovery phase of the disease.

² Published with approval of the Director of the S. C. Agricultural Experiment Station as technical contribution no. 558.

Manuscript received 24 September 1965.