Salt Utilization Studies with Poultry: 2. Optimum Particle Size of Salt for the Young Chick

Abstract

EVIDENCE was obtained in previous studies at this station indicating that the growth rate of chicks fed graded dietary levels of common salt or sodium chloride was dependent upon the particle size of the salt (Dilworth et al., 1970). It was further determined that chick growth was not affected by variation in the slight amount of water insolubles normally present in the rock salts used in these experiments.The objective of this study was to determine the optimum particle size of dietary salt needed to maximize chick growth.EXPERIMENTALThe chicks used in these experiments were day old, broiler-strain cockerels obtained from a commercial hatchery. All chicks were wing-banded and placed in electrically heated battery brooders with raised wire floors. The test diets and tap water were provided ad libitum.The sodium deficient basal was a simplified corn-soybean meal diet used in previous studies (Dilworth et al., 1970). The calculated…