Studies on a Possible Interaction Between Riboflavin and Vitamin B12 as it Affects Hatchability of the Hen’s Egg

Abstract

Experiments were conducted using Single Comb White Leghorn chickens to investigate a possible interaction between the requirements for riboflavin and vitamin B12 for hatchability and to determine how important such an interaction might be in altering the requirements for one or both of these vitamins. The vitamin B12 requirement for optimum hatchability was found to be 3.45–3.60 μg./kg. of diet, and the requirement for dietary riboflavin, approximately 2.75 mg./kg. of diet. Dietary riboflavin at deficient or practical levels of feeding was found not to affect the vitamin B12 concentration in egg yolk, or the vitamin B12 requirement for optimum hatchability. Although a slight sparing effect of vitamin B12 upon the riboflavin requirement was suggested by the present studies, the effect was not statistically significant (p < .05). High levels of dietary vitamin B12 exerted a striking negative effect on riboflavin concentrations in egg yolk (p < .05). Egg production and food consumption were not affected by dietary riboflavin levels ranging from 1.61 to 5.51 mg./kg. of diet or vitamin B12 ranging from 1.0 to 11.0 μg./kg. of diet. However, optimum egg size was achieved only when the highest level of vitamin B12 was fed.