ABSTRACT
At 135% of control, Single Comb White Leghorn laying hens were force fed for 3 weeks, diets based on corn or wheat, the latter made isocaloric to the corn-based diet with either corn oil, corn starch, or wheat starch. The hens fed ad libitum received a corn-based diet. Force feeding the corn-based diet produced fatty liver hemorrhagic syndrome (FLHS) with scores averaging 3.3 where 1 = no hemorrhages and 5 = 25 or more hemorrhagic points per liver. Force feeding the wheat-based diet with corn starch, wheat starch, or corn oil resulted in scores of 3.1, 2.7, and 1.9, respectively. Only the latter score was significantly different from the score produced by force feeding the corn-based diet, which when fed ad libitum resulted in an average score of 1.3. Based on these data and the criteria of retained energy, weight gain, percent fat in liver, and plasma estradiol concentrations, we concluded that wheat-based diets with corn- or wheat-starch produce FLHS equivalent to that caused by diets based on corn. Lipid at 4% of the diet had an alleviating effect on FLHS.
Subject(s)
Chickens , Fatty Liver/veterinary , Poultry Diseases/metabolism , Animals , Body Weight , Diet , Dietary Carbohydrates/administration & dosage , Dietary Fats/administration & dosage , Estradiol/blood , Fatty Liver/metabolism , Female , Hemorrhage/veterinary , Liver Diseases/veterinary , Oils/administration & dosage , Starch/administration & dosage , Syndrome/veterinary , Triticum , Zea maysABSTRACT
Laying hens were fed diets based on either corn-soybean meal (CS) or wheat-soybean meal (WS). The WS diets were formulated to be isocaloric to the CS diet by supplementing with either corn oil, corn starch, or wheat starch. Hens fed the WS diets with either of the starches had significantly (P less than or equal to .01) higher percentages of hepatic lipid than those fed WS diets with corn oil. Values for hepatic lipid of hens fed the CS diets were intermediate to those of the wheat-based diets. The supplementation of fish meal or a selenium salt to supply .4 mg Se per kilogram of diet did not prevent or alleviate the problem of fatty livers caused by feeding diets composed mostly of wheat-soy and starch. The data revealed that wheat does not have an unidentified factor preventing FLS. The indication is that lipid at proper amounts in the diet acts through feed-back mechanisms to prevent excessive hepatic lipid accumulation that starches enhance.
Subject(s)
Chickens , Dietary Fats/pharmacology , Fatty Liver/veterinary , Poultry Diseases/metabolism , Animals , Chickens/physiology , Diet , Fatty Liver/metabolism , Female , Hemorrhage/veterinary , Liver/metabolism , Organ Size , Oviposition , Selenium/pharmacology , Syndrome/veterinaryABSTRACT
The relationship of plasma estradiol and progesterone levels to fatty liver-hemorrhagic syndrome (FLHS) was studied with three groups of 9 White Leghorn hens per group. One group was fed ad libitum the other two group were force-fed at 120% and 135% of their own pre-experimental daily feed intake. Force-feeding for 3 weeks produced FLHS. The average FLHS score was 1.6 for control, 3.7 for 120% force-fed, and 4.5 for 135% force-fed. The average liver fat contents were 31.3%, 75.1%, and 76.8% (dry matter basis), respectively. Plasma estradiol averaged 165 pg/ml in the control group and 194 and 247 pg/ml in groups force-fed at 120% and 135%, respectively. The correlation coefficient between plasma estradiol and FLHS was .72 (P less than .01). No significant differences in plasma progesterone were obtained among the control and force-fed groups. The data indicate that high endogenous estrogen levels are associated with FLHS.
