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A high incidence of perosis-curled toe type of leg disorder has consistently developed in both cage- and floor pen-reared male broiler chicks of two different genetic strains within 5 to 7 days when fed a nutritionally complete corn-soybean meal diet. Postmortem analysis of affected birds indicate classic perosis as seen in dietary manganese (Mn) deficiency. Ration modifications, such as inclusion of 50 ppm additional Mn or .5 mg/kg vitamin B-2 did not prevent or reduce the development of this leg problem. Birds reared in floor-pens had a reduced incidence (12 to 13%) of perosis-curled toe problem compared with incidence of leg disorders of battery-reared birds (20 to 60%). In most instances, a positive relationship between rate of weight gain and severity of leg abnormalities was apparent. Reduction in photoperiod from 24 hr/day to 12 hr/day substantially reduced incidence of leg disorders; however, growth rate was also reduced. The practical basal diet employed in all experiments promotes satisfactory rate of growth and feed efficiency and may be an excellent assay diet for experimentation into perosis-like broiler leg problems.

Zinc-65 was injected directly into various sites throughout the small intestine of Holstein calves fed a low zinc diet. Zinc absorption was determined by comparing zinc-65 content of blood, liver, kidney, lung, heart, pancreas, rib, muscle, and other tissues. Tissue zinc-65 was plotted against site of injection expressed as percentage of intestinal length from proximal to distal ends. Zinc absorption occurred throughout the small intestine with the amount absorbed per centimeter of length about equal throughout the small intestine. This is in contrast to conclusions from studies of rats indicating more absorption in the proximal part of the small intestine. The difference appears to have been due to artifacts in the procedures with rats. However, species and dietary differences may have affected relative findings between this and earlier work.

Four groups of 6-week-old C3H mice were injected sc with either sterile saline, 2.8 mg Cd/kg body weight, 2.8 mg Zn/kg body weight, or 2.8 mg each of Cd and Zn/kg body weight. Forty-eight hours after the initial injection, all mice received a second dose of their respective treatments plus an iv injection of sheep red blood cells. On Days 2, 3, 4, and 5 postimmunization the mice were killed. Spleen cells were used in a hemolytic plaque-forming assay for the quantitation of the primary humoral response. Although the combined administration of zinc and cadmium completely prevented the fatal effects of the cadmium (0 vs 55% mortality), zinc failed to alleviate the cadmium-induced inhibition of the humoral response.

Fifteen intact male Holstein calves averaging 101 d of age were utilized to determine the effects of dietary Mn concentration and routes of administration on its metabolism. They were fed a practical grain diet containing 23 ppm Mn with 0, 100, or 1000 ppm supplemental Mn (MnSO4.H2O) for 7 d prior to intravenous or duodenal dosing with 54Mn. Animals were killed 4 h later. With added Mn there was a significant decrease in 54Mn content of some small intestine parts. However, in most tissue, including organs, bones, intestinal tract tissues, and blood, added Mn did not have a significant effect on 54Mn concentrations. Concentrations of 54Mn in tissues, except in small intestine, were far higher following intravenous dosing than with duodenal dosing. This further confirms that absorption of Mn is very low. Dosing method had a sizable effect on the relative amounts of 54Mn in different tissues. This suggests that intravenously administered Mn, at least initially, is not metabolized in the same way as that absorbed. In most tissues, unlabeled Mn was not affected greatly by supplemental Mn. This is in contrast to earlier results with very young calves and indicates that Mn metabolism changes sharply before 3 to 4 mo of calf age.

Levels of magnal estrogen and progesterone receptors during egg formation in the hen were determined. Hens were sacrificed at various times after ovulation and magnal receptor levels were determined by tritiated hormone binding assays. A coincident increase in nuclear estrogen receptor and decrease in cytosol estrogen receptor 2 to 4 h postoviposition was suggestive of in vivo receptor translocation. At 12 to 16 h postoviposition cytosol progesterone receptor increased 2-fold and subsequently declined during the time of preovulatory progesterone surge (8 h to 6 h prior to expected ovulation). These data suggest that changes in circulating levels of estrogen and progesterone, associated with ovulation, are coordinated with oviductal function. This is reflected by fluxes of their respective oviductal receptors.

Holstein calves and cows in first lactation were fed a low-zinc (16.6 ppm) experimental diet. Zinc-65 absorption and tissue distribution were determined following a single oral tracer dose of zinc-65 given 14 days prior to sacrifice. Net zinc-65 absorptions for the cows and 2- and 6-mo-old calves were 53.4, 49.7 and 47.2% of the dose. Tissue zinc-65 content, adjusted for body weight and zinc-65 of milk of the cows was not significantly different from that of either age calves in 13 of 20 comparable tissues. Greatest differences in tissue zinc-65 were in tibia and rib with the 6-mo-old group highest and cows lowest. Lactation represents a major homoeostatic demand for zinc, and the intestinal absorptive ability of adult cattle remains responsive to physiological need.