Abstract
Since 1919 many workers 1 , 2 , 3 have demonstrated the growth of chickens on a supposedly vitamin C-free diet. There are reports 4 , 5 indicating the possibility of a vitamin C requirement for the chicken.
In the course of an experiment to ascertain the influence of injections of ascorbic acid on the ascorbic acid content of blood, eggs, feces, and certain organs of laying hens 6 a muscular weakness developed in the legs of 3 hens fed a vitamin C-free diet under laboratory conditions.
In this study 15 Barred Plymouth Rock hens, 3 groups of 6, 6, and 3, were fed the N. C. State College laying mash, scratch grain treated with 1% cod liver oil, and oyster shell. 7 Fresh water was supplied daily. Each new supply of mash and grain was tested for its vitamin C content using the indophenol titration method, 8 and all the samples were found to be devoid of vitamin C. The hens were confined to laying batteries in a room in a laboratory.
This study was started January 14, 1939, and was terminated June 13, 1939. Group A (test) hens were given injections of ascorbic acid throughout the experiment. The first week 2 injections of 100 mg of ascorbic acid in 2 ml of Ringer's solution 9 were made subcutaneously. Thereafter, for the next 9 weeks 50 mg per injection were used twice weekly, then 4 injections were made weekly in the final 9 weeks of the experiment. A total of 246 injections of ascorbic acid were given to the 6 hens in group A which remained normal throughout the experiment. The hens in the control groups B and C, with the exception of those that developed “leg-weakness”, received no ascorbic acid.
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