Inefficacy of Dietary Deficiencies of Vitamins A, D3 and Riboflavin on the Reproductive Performance of Mature Cockerels

Abstract

Two studies were conducted with 10 caged White Leghorn males per group—5 group s of 62-week-old birds for a 12-week period in Trial 1 and 4 groups of 32-week-old bird s for a 22-week period in Trial 2. In both studies, group 1 males were fed a wheat basal diet calculated to be devoid of vitamins A and D3 and low in riboflavin and supplemented with 4405 U.S.P. units vitamin A, 1652 I.C. units vitamin D3 and 4.05 mg. riboflavin per kg. diet. The group 1 diet was fed to groups 2, 3 and 4 with vitamin A, D3 and riboflavin being omitted from groups 2, 3 and 4, respectively. Group 5 males in Trial 1 were continued on the standard breeder diet. The data in both studies showed no effect of a vitamin deficiency on the reproductive performance of cockerels in terms of body weight gains, feed intake, semen characteristics (semen volume, packed sperm volume, methylene blue reduction time) and duration of fertility and hatchability. Vitamin analyses of feed samples, blood serum, livers and testes of males in the second study indicated that depletion in the male had taken place but that the degree of depletion may not have been severe enough to induce a vitamin deficiency, or that the male chicken has a lower requirement for vitamins A, D3 and riboflavin than the female chicken.