Insulin–glucose interactions characterised in newly hatched broiler chicks

Abstract

1. A study was conducted to identify the specificity of insulin–glucose interactions in newly hatched broiler chicks. 2. Plasma insulin concentrations in fed chicks at one day post-hatch were lower than those at later ages and tended to increase up to d 7, while the concentrations from 1 to 7 d of age were lower than those in chickens of 10 to 28 d of age. 3. Plasma glucose concentrations were lowered for 60 min by injection of insulin at 10 and 40 µg/kg body weight (BW) in both 1- and 21-d-old chicks, showing that the hypoglycaemic effect of exogenous insulin is of larger magnitude but shorter duration in 1-d-old chicks. 4. The decrease in plasma glucose concentration at 60 min after insulin injection (10 and 40 µg/kg BW) was larger in 1- to 7-d-old chicks than in 14- to 21-d-old chickens. 5. These results indicate that newly hatched broiler chicks are under the control of specific insulin–glucose interactions characterised by low plasma insulin concentrations with high sensitivity to insulin.