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Effect of Levels of Calcium and Lysine upon the Growth of Ascaridia galli in Chicks^1,2,

Poultry Science and Veterinary Science Departments, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin

Embryonated eggs of Ascaridia galli were given to one-week-old chicks to determine the impact of calcium and lysine in the diet of the host upon the parasite. As the level of calcium in the diet was increased, the length of the worms decreased. The ability of the worms to survive was generally decreased as the level of calcium was increased from 0.3% to 2.50%. When lysine was used as the variable, worm size decreased as the lysine level increased from 0.65% to 2.05%. At 4 weeks after exposure, the number of worms was significantly greater in chicks fed low levels of lysine; the number of worms in chicks destroyed at 5 weeks after exposure was not significantly different. The weights of the control (noninfected) and treated chicks were almost equal except when higher doses of eggs were administered; then exposed chicks gained less than the nonexposed. The data indicate that the lower levels of calcium and lysine were sufficient for normal maturation of embryonated eggs and growth. The results of the 6 experiments show that the needs of A. galli for lysine and calcium, as measured in the diet of the host, are less than 0.65% lysine and 0.3% calcium. These nutrition requirements are well below the needs of the host.

² This work was supported in part by the Rockefeller Foundation, New York.

³ M. Cuca, National School of Agriculture, Chapingo, Mexico, D.F.

Manuscript received 5 June 1967.