D. C. Hill

Effect of penicillin on the tolerance of turkeys to fat

Abstract A diet is presented with which penicillin produced little or no growth response when fed to male turkey poults. Penicillin supplementation of the same diet caused a marked response with female poults. Differences in the nutritive requirements of the two sexes is suggested as the basis for this difference in response. The energy requirement of turkeys for maximum growth and feed efficiency was in excess of 820 cal./lb. under these conditions. The addition of 10% of corn oil to the diet, raising the energy content to 900 cal./lb., caused growth reduction. The depressing effect on growth of the high level of fat was considerably relieved by supplementation of the diet with penicillin.