Salt Tolerance of Turkeys

Abstract

ABSTRACT Foss (1941) fed mashes containing 2, 4, 6, and 8 percent of salt to 3-week old poults. The birds on the 6 and 8 percent levels died within one week. Those on the 4 percent level lived several weeks but made no gain in weight. Scrivner (1946) found that sodium chloride or sodium bicarbonate administered with feed or water produced edema and ascites in poults. In one trial 2.5 percent salt in the mash caused the death of 40 percent of the poults in seven days with typical edema and ascites. James (1946) added 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 percent iodized salt to the diet of poults for the first 25 days. The mortality, all occurring from 5 to 15 days, was 38.4 percent on the 2 percent level of salt as compared to 9.6 percent on the 1 percent level. On the 2 percent level the gains were reduced . . .