Abstract
The influence of dietary calcium (Ca) on the occurrence of wet droppings was determined in hens fed various levels of dietary Ca ranging from .05 to 3.76% for 3 to 12 days. Feed and water consumption, total excreta; and percent moisture of excreta were determined at various intervals.Hens fed control diets (3.0 and 3.76% Ca) excreted well-formed and fairly dry appearing excreta. Hens fed diets with lower Ca excreted wet and loosely formed excreta within 3 days. Although the excreta of hens fed the lowest Ca appeared as a pool of water in the collectors, excreta moisture was not always significantly greater than that of the control excreta. Hens fed diets containing the lower Ca consumed less feed and water than hens fed the control diets. Upon necropsy, large pockets of water were observed in the gastrointestinal tract of hens fed the .08% Ca diet but not in control hens.This previously unidentified sign (watery excreta) of Ca-deficient hens may explain some of the cause of wet droppings observed in commercial Leghorns. It should also help alert producers to a possible cause of thin-shell problems produced by accidental short-term interruption of Ca.
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