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SEVERAL reports have appeared which suggest that thyroprotein, (iodinated casein) may have beneficial effects when fed to young chicks and, during the summer months, to laying hens (Parker, 1943, Irwin, Reineke and Turner, 1943, Turner et al., 1945, Turner, Irwin and Reineke, 1945, Gutteridge and Pratt, 1946, Gutteridge and Novikoff, 1947, Wheeler, Hoffmann and Graham, 1948). No experimental data are available, however, on the effect of feeding thyroprotein during the “growing period,” but Turner (1947) has recommended in a popular article that, “For growing pullets, the . . . (thyroprotein) feeding can continue at the rate of 15–20 grams per hundred pounds of their total feed until the approach of sexual maturity. Then the . . . (thyroprotein) can be cut to 10 grams per hundred pounds of their total feed.” The present paper reports on the effects of feeding thyroprotein during the 12 weeks period (12 to 24 . . .

Previous work in this laboratory has shown that chicks hatched from eggs laid by thyroprotein-fed hens have greatly enlarged thyroids (Wheeler and Hoffman, 1948a). The presence of goiters suggested that the chicks might be hypothyroid and therefore, might exhibit reduced rate of embryonic development. A preliminary study of this aspect of the problem established that eggs of hens fed thyroprotein at a dietary level of 0.02% required 6 to 12 hours longer to hatch (Wheeler and Hoffman, 1948b). Both of these findings have recently been confirmed by the independent studies of McCartney and Shaffner (1948). The present study was designed to determine the interrelationships between degree of goiterogenicity, increase in length of incubation period, and level of thyroprotein fed with the view of attempting to explain the mechanisms involved. materials and methods To secure eggs for hatching, 60 year-old New Hampshire hens were divided at random into four groups of 15 birds. The hens were kept on littercovered fl...

THERE has been considerable recent interest in the possibility of the thyroid gland being involved in the expression of seasonal reproductive rhythms in males. Parker and McSpadden (1942) and Wheeler and Andrews (1943) reported that cock semen quality and quantity was reduced during the summer months. Thyroid gland involvement in this decline may be inferred from the abundant evidence that thyroid activity is reduced when the ambient air temperature is increased (see below) and from the fact that summer sterility of rams may be improved by thyroxine or synthetic thyroprotein administration (Berliner and Warbritton, 1937; Bogart and Mayer, 1946). It is well known that temperature plays an important part in regulating thyroidal activity and that thyroid hormone is intimately concerned with gonadal activity. The controlling mechanism which regulates pituitary output of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), and indirectly the output of thyroid hormone (thyroxine), has been rather clearly outlined although much . . .

THE introductory course in poultry husbandry at the University of Georgia is required of all freshman students in the College of Agriculture. It is an intensive course which meets five days a week foreleven weeks (one quarter). Since this is the first and last poultry course that many students will take, it must be primarily a survey of poultry production; and, since most of the students have not had much background in biology, this course must also present sufficient information in poultry biology to give the student an insight into the fowl as a living organism. The objective of this course, then, is to develop some of the most important aspects of poultry culture together with some of the fundamental biological principles which are necessary in order to understand the reasoning behind recommended poultry practices. In the past the traditional approach to this problem has been used. A group of . . .

THREE reports have appeared in recent years which suggested that thyroprotein might be a desirable ingredient for commercial broiler rations. These previous trials were done with small numbers for each dosage level and the chicks were reared in batteries rather than under practical farm conditions. Moreover, the statistical significance of the differences in response to treatment was not determined. Thus a need was apparent for a more extensive test of these findings under commercial production conditions with the attendant crowding, contact with intestinal discharges, and other normal brooding hazards. The work reported here is an attempt to provide further information on the value of thyroprotein when fed to broiler chicks under conditions approximating those in the field. REVIEW OF LITERATURE It is difficult to evaluate the literature on the effects of feeding thyroprotein to growing chicks. Not only have different investigators used different dosages, but the thyroprotein used has varied . . .

INTRODUCTION THERE has been considerable interest in the possibility of increasing resistance to rancidity of poultry in frozen storage. It is generally conceded that a major cause of rancidity is oxidation of carcass fats. Two different approaches have been made to the solution of this problem. Some workers have studied the influence of tissue anti-oxidants on rate of rancidity and have shown that incorporation of tocopherols in the diet prior to slaughter may or may not have beneficial effects (Lundberg, 1947; Criddle et al., 1947; Watts and Major, 1946, 1948; Burr et al., 1946). Others have studied the effect of diet on the amount and type of carcass fat deposited on the subsequent stability of the fat (Overman, 1942; Schreiber, 1947; Kumerow et al., 1948; Hite et al., 1949 a, b). These studies indicate in general that stability decreases with increase in total amount of fat and with increase in . . .

IT WOULD appear logical that urinary and fecal water elimination are major factors leading to the accumulation of moisture in poultry house litter. A solution of the problem of “wet litter” would thus involve determination of those factors responsible for the elimination of excessive amounts of water via the renal and alimentary routes. One of these causal factors is diet. In a recent note (James and Wheeler, 1949), we reported that the amount of water consumed, as well as the amount of excreta voided by growing chickens varied almost directly with the protein level of the diet. It is interesting that although the birds on the higher protein levels eliminated more urinary and fecal water (by virtue of greater volume of droppings), the moisture content of the excreta was not elevated, nor was feed consumption affected. In this work the varying protein levels were obtained by changing the amounts of . . .

IT HAS been shown that the feeding of synthetic thyro-protein to hens increases the time required to hatch their eggs and results in the presence of goiters in chicks hatched from these eggs (Wheeler and Hoffmann, 1948a,b). The chicks are hypothyroid as shown by their lowered oxygen consumption rate (McCartney and Shaffner, 1949). These results are contradictory to those obtained when thyroprotein is fed directly to adult or growing chickens. In these cases metabolic rate is elevated and thyroid involution occurs (Wheeler, Hoffmann and Graham, 1948). Injection of thyroprotein into fertile eggs also results in thyroid involution in the developing chick (Booker and Sturkie, 1949). An explanation for these paradoxical effects became evident when Wolff and Chaikoff (1948a,b) reported that administration of large amounts of inorganic iodide inhibited thyroxine synthesis in the thyroid gland of normal rats. Later, Wheeler and Hoffmann (1949a, b; 1950) reported that KI can act as …

Wet litter in poultry houses is a problem of considerable economic and pathological importance. Although little is known of the physiological factors involved, Eley and Hoffmann (1949) suggest that dietary protein content may affect the amount of moisture in the droppings which should in turn directly affect the moisture content of the litter. The present study is a preliminary report on an attempt to determine the relationship between protein intake and the amount of water eliminated in the droppings. MATERIALS AND METHODS Forty-eight, 12-week-old Rhode Island Reds were divided at random into 6 groups of 8 birds each. Each group contained 4 males and 4 females. The birds were held in compartments 4×2×1½ which were equipped with wire screen floors. The three diets differed essentially only in percentage protein as a result of varying the corn and soybean oil meal content. These diets provided 15, 20 and 25 percent protein . . .

SummaryThe goiterogenic action of increased iodide intake is demonstrated both in the normal fowl, follwing continuous treatment, as well as in the developing chick embryo. The goiters in chicks presumably result from large amounts of inorganic iodide deposited in the egg by the hen and are comparable in weight and histology to those observed in chicks from dams fed histology to those observed in chicks from dams fed synthetic thyroprotein. It is suggested that the goiters observed in chicks from dams fed synthetic thyroprotein are caused by the iodide present in thyroprotein.

The most widely used technique of collecting semen from cocks is the so-called “massage” method which requires two operators (Burrows and Quinn, 1935, 1937). One operator holds the cock and the second operator collects the semen. This technique is efficient and easily mastered. Unfortunately it is often inconvenient for a second person to assist in making collections. There is need therefore for a rapid, and widely adaptable method which can be performed by an unassisted operator and which can be mastered easily. A mechanical device to which the cock can be strapped thus permitting the use of a one-man technique has been described by Burrows and Quinn (1937). This method has the obvious shortcoming of not being convenient for field operations since it is necessary to carry the device from one point of collection to another, and the trussing of the cock to the apparatus is time consuming and tedious. . . .

Natural estrogens or their derivatives have not been used for chemical caponization or fattening of broilers because of their relatively greater cost as compared to the cost of synthetic estrogens. Natural estrogens would be economically practical fattening agents however, if sufficiently potent to be used in small quantities. Rawson (1947) received reports from practicing veterinarians that a single oral dose of 0.5 mg. alpha-estradiol (Ovocylin-Ciba) effectively inhibited development of secondary sex characters and stimulated fat deposition in young cockerels. Since these observations did not indicate that carefully controlled experiments had been conducted, it was decided to repeat the work for possible verification. EXPERIMENTAL Ninety cockerels, 1 six-weeks of age were divided according to weight into three very uniform groups averaging 0.72, 0.90, and 1.05 lbs. There were 16 birds in the first group, 62 in the second, and 12 in the third group. Each of these groups was divided at random . . .

It has been shown that goiters could be produced in chicks by feeding inorganic iodide to the hen (Wheeler and Hoffmann 1949a). This was not unexpected because it had previously been shown that goiters could be produced in chicks by injecting KI into 16-day old embryonated eggs (Wheeler and Hoffmann, 1949b). These findings suggested that inorganic iodide present in synthetic thyroprotein (STP) might cause the goiters found in chicks from hens fed STP. The goiters produced by either inorganic iodide or STP were comparable in weight and histologically indistinguishable (Wheeler and Hoffmann, 1948) and it was known that STP contains 1.5–2.0 percent inorganic iodide (Graham 1948). Thus it appeared likely that inorganic iodide might be the goiterogenic substance in thyroprotein. To test this hypothesis, an iodide-free sample of synthetic thyroprotein was obtained from Dr. W. R. Graham, Jr. of Cerophyll Laboratories, Kansas City, Missouri. Four groups of ten hens were . . .