Effects of sex and age upon utilization of zinc in chickens
1999
Zelenka, J. (Mendelova Zemedelska a Lesnicka Univ., Brno (Czech Republic). Agronomicka Fakulta)
Effects of sex and age of chickens upon zinc utilization were investigated in an experiment with 128 chickens divided into 16 groups. Eight groups of chickens received 96 mg of Zn per 1 kg of consumed dry matter and eight groups received only 83 mg of Zn including 25 mg of zinc added as ZnO. During the growing period from day 12 to day 56, the experiment was divided into 15 three-day balance periods. For diets containing 96 and 83 mg of Zn, the average coefficients of retention, as determined in 120 balance experiments, were 0.207 +/- 0.0137 and 0.206 +/- 0.0095, resp. Utilization of zinc from both diets decreased highly significantly with the increasing age. In chickens fed a diet higher in Zn, the content of this element per 1 g of live body gain decreased with age and was in average 38.6 +/- 2.59 micro g. In the case of lower Zn diet, its content per unit of weight gain increased up to day 36 and, thereafter, a gradual decrease could be observed; the average content was 32.2 +/- 1.38 micro g. The growth rate of the total amount of Zn in the organism was slightly lower than that of body weight. Allometric coefficients were 0.95 +/- 0.033 and 0.97 +/- 0.008 for chickens fed diets with 96 and 83 mg of Zn, respectively. The effect of sex was not significant.
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