Effect of antibiotic supplements to diets containing rye on chick growth.

Abstract THE results of experiments in which rye has been used to replace other cereal grains of the diet have usually shown rye to have a very low nutritional value. Growth of chicks fed high levels of rye is generally greatly depressed and the droppings of chicks are very abnormal. Efforts to improve the nutritional value of rye have met with only limited success. Fry et al. (1958) showed that a water treatment involving the wetting of ground rye with an equal weight of water and followed by drying in an oven at 70° C. gave a significant improvement in chick growth. This treatment did not, however, increase chick growth to levels obtained with other cereal grains such as corn or barley. Smith and McIntire (1960) failed to obtain an improvement in chick growth by water treating rye. Moran et al. (1969) have recently reviewed the literature on the value of…