OCR Text |
Show POULTRY JUKES: VITAMINS REDUCE LOSS OF CHICKS Lack of These Essentials Cause of Many Evils. It Is necessary for the growing chick to have included in the ration substances sub-stances which contain vitamins A, B, and D, says O. N. Massengale, poultry poul-try nutrition specialist at the New Jersey Jer-sey agricultural experiment statioa. The lack of either of these essential factors, he asserts, will give rise to stunted growth, a greater susceptibility susceptibil-ity to disease and a higher mortality. The absence of vitamin A causes a nutritional disturbance called "ophthalmia," "oph-thalmia," the absence of B cause polyneuritis poly-neuritis and the absence of D causes leg weakness. The best source of A and B in the ra- " tion is whole yellow corn meal. It ig advisable to use the meal from the whole grain because in the degerniea corn meal a greater part of the vitamins vita-mins have been lost with the removal of the germ. Cod liver oil is also an excellent source of A, whereas wheat bran is an excellent source of B. Two well-known sources of the D vitamin vi-tamin are cod liver oil and sunlight Since the sunlight Is not always available avail-able in sufficient amounts, especially to birds in confinement, it is advisable advisa-ble to add 1 per cent of cod liver oil to the mash. Although a chick ration may be complete as far as protein and minerals are concerned, unless ample amounts of these important vitamins are present, the poultryman will be unsuccessful un-successful in raising the chicks to maturity. |