Effect of Linoleic Acid Reserves on Essential Fatty Acid Deficiency of the Chick

ABSTRACT Experiments were conducted to study the influence of EFA-deficiency on growth and development of male and female chicks and to determine the influence of linoleic acid reserves and age on susceptibility to essential fatty acid deficiency. When the birds were fed the basal essential fatty acid deficient diet, the females grew faster than the cockerels. After 7 months there was very little difference in the weight of the females on the experimental diets (basal 2,588 grams vs. basal + 5 % corn oil 2,679 grams), but there was considerable difference between the males (basal 2,497 grams vs. basal + 5 % corn oil 3,814 grams). In experiment 2 there were 5 dietary treatments: the basal, the basal supple-mented with 5 % corn oil or the corn-soy diet were fed for 12 weeks. The other two treat-ments were such that the corn-soy diet was fed for the first 4 weeks followed by the basal or basal 4- 5 % corn oil for the next 8 weeks. Experiment 3 had S dietary treatments. Two treatments consisted of feeding the basal diet or the corn-soy diet for 8 weeks. In the other 3 treatments the corn-soy diet was fed for the first week, first 2 weeks, or first 4 weeks, followed by the basal diet. The weight of the birds fed the corn-soy 0 to 4 weeks, basal 4 to 12 weeks diet was not significantly different from the birds fed the corn-soy 0 to 1