ABSTRACT
The effect of dietary tetramethylthiuram disulfide (TMTD) (0, 30, or 60 mg/kg diet) on the performance and incidence and severity of tibial dyschondroplasia (TD) in Single Comb White Leghorn (SCWL) chicks was studied in a 6-week experiment. Body weights (3 weeks of age) and bone ash (4 and 6 weeks of age) of chicks fed either 30 or 60 mg TMTD/kg diet were significantly lower compared to controls. Dietary TMTD, however, significantly increased the incidence and severity of TD in layer chicks with the highest incidence (69%) occurring in 6-week old-birds. This study showed that SCWL chicks were susceptible to TMTD-induced TD as early as 2-weeks of age and that the condition persisted throughout the growing phase.
Subject(s)
Chickens/growth & development , Fungicides, Industrial/toxicity , Osteochondrodysplasias/veterinary , Poultry Diseases/chemically induced , Thiocarbamates/pharmacology , Thiram/pharmacology , Animals , Bone and Bones/drug effects , Male , Osteochondrodysplasias/chemically induced , Thiram/administration & dosage , Thiram/toxicityABSTRACT
Supplementing a practical chick starter diet with 30 mg tetramethylthiuram disulfide per kg of diet produced tibial dyschondroplasia (TD) in single-comb white leghorn chicks without compromising growth or bone mineralization. The incidence and severity of the lesion increased over time, with the highest incidence (40%) occurring in 4-week-old chickens. Microscopically, the lesion was consistent with the description of TD in broilers. This is the first known report of TD in the layer-type chick, which heretofore was felt to be highly resistant to TD.
