Various Types of Diets, Sources of Energy, and Positive Energy Balance in the Induction of Fatty Liver

ABSTRACT Adult female chickens were force-fed a corn-soy base diet at 150 % of the daily amount consumed by those allowed the same diet ad libitum. Other hens were force-fed diets isocaloric to the 150 % group just mentioned, but diet composition was adjusted so that 2/3 of the metabolizable energy (M.E.) came from the corn-soy diet and 1/3 from either corn oil or glucose; or force-fed a low energy diet accounting for 2/3 of the M.E. and corn oil 1/3 of M.E., or a purified diet accounting for all M.E. Fatty liver-hemorrhagic syndrome (FLHS) was induced in all force-fed groups with only the low energy diet plus corn oil having produced a significantly lower score for FLHS. However, the livers from the hens of the latter group had as much lipid, and the hens gained at least as much weight as those in other force-fed groups. During the third week of the experiment M.E. was determined along with a partition of energy among eggs, basal metabolism, body weight gain, and subsistance plus heat increment (H.I.). The data showed that the hens force-fed corn oil had lower H.I. values indicative of associative dynamic action of fats at a plane of nutrition above normal. The data revealed that various types of diets and sourves of energy in excess can induce FLHS, and this is discussed in terms of FLHS arising out of a positive energy balance