Metabolism of Cobalt 60 in Chickens ,

Abstract

MANY cases of cobalt deficiency, both natural and experimental, have been reported in ruminants. All attempts to produce a cobalt deficiency have failed with such small laboratory animals as rats (Houk et al., 1946; Underwood and Elvehjem, 1938) and rabbits (Thompson and Ellis, 1947). The hypothesis that, in the ruminants, cobalt acts primarily through some mechanism involving the microorganisms in the rumen, led to metabolic studies in these animals (Comar and Davis, 1947a, b; Comar et al., 1946a, b; Becker and Smith, 1951). Metabolic studies on cobalt have also been reported from rabbits and swine (Comar and Davis 1947b), from rats (Comar et al., 1946a: Greenberg et al., 1943), and from dogs (Sheline et al., 1946; Lee and Wolterink, 1955a, b, c).Since the microorganisms found in the caeca of poultry may have nutritional significance, analogy with the ruminant suggests that their relationship to cobalt metabolism should be investigated. The …