Observations on an Unidentified Feather-Pigment Factor Necessary for Chickens Fed Purified Diets

McGINNIS, Norris, and Heuser (1942) reported that young chicks, when fed a semi-purified ration containing corn meal and peanut meal, required an unidentified nutritional factor for feather pigmentation. The factor, present in dried brewer’s yeast, was distinguished from the vitamins known at that time with the exception of para-aminobenzoic acid and inositol. The results presented in this paper extend the observations of these workers. It has been found, by the use of a purified ration, that liver contains a feather-pigment factor which is distinct from all chemically identified vitamins available at present, including inositol and para-aminobenzoic acid. Several procedures for obtaining faulty pigmentation are given. In addition, the effect of inanition on pigment production has been determined in paired-feeding trials. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE AND RESULTS Day-old purebred New Hampshire chicks or crossbred chicks secured from matings of Barred Plymouth Rock males ×New Hampshire females were used and divided into uniform groups. . . .