The folic acid requirements of starting broiler chicks fed diets based on practical ingredients. 1. Interrelationships with dietary choline

• Published in: Poultry science 1995-09, Vol.74 (9), p.1447
• Main Authors: Ryu, K S, Roberson, K D, Pesti, G M, Eitenmiller, R R
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: acide folique; acido folico; Animals; ashes; blood; Body Weight - drug effects; Bone and Bones - abnormalities; bone diseases; bone formation; bones; broiler chickens; cendre; ceniza; Chickens - physiology; chicks; choline; Choline - administration & dosage; colina; complement alimentaire; efficacite alimentaire; eficiencia de conversion del pienso; enfermedades oseas; feed conversion efficiency; foie; folic acid; Folic Acid - administration & dosage; Food, Fortified; formacion osea; formation des os; gain de poids; ganancia de peso; higado; huesos; huesos de los miembros; largura; length; limb bones; liver; longueur; Male; malformacion; malformation; malformations; methionine; metionina; Nutritional Requirements; os des membres; Osteochondrodysplasias - chemically induced; osteopathie; pollito; pollo de engorde; poulet de chair; poussin; sang; sangre; soybean meal; suplementos; supplements; Tibia - anatomy & histology; Tibia - drug effects; tortas de soja; tourteau de soja; vitamin b12; vitamina b12; vitaminas; vitamine; vitamine b12; vitamins; weight gain
• ISSN: 0032-5791; 1525-3171
• DOI: 10.3382/ps.0741447

Five experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of dietary supplemental folic acid in starting broiler chick diets. In the first two experiments, basal diets based on corn and soybean meal contained 10 micrograms/kg vitamin B(12) but no supplemental methionine or choline. Chicks showed curvilinear responses to folic acid supplementation with maximum growth and feed efficiencies from 1.45 mg/kg diet. The liver folic acid response was also curvilinear but reached a plateau at 1.70 mg folic acid/kg diet. The basal diet for three additional experiments contained soybean meal that had been washed with methanol to remove most of the choline. The basal diet contained only 750 mg/kg choline. Chicks exhibited a larger growth response to folic acid at low choline levels as evidenced by a significant folic acid by choline interaction. Choline and folic acid both increased tibia length and width. Folic acid supplementation increased but then decreased valgus deformity. Choline chloride supplementation also decreased the incidences of valgus and varus deformities and decreased bone ash, but increased the incidence of tibial dyschondroplasia. It is concluded that chicks fed practical ingredient-based diets require 1.3 mg folic acid/kg diet with low levels of choline, but only 1.2 mg folic acid/kg when choline is offered near the NRC recommended level of 1,300 mg/kg of choline.