Oral Administration of Estrogens and Their Effect on Growth, Feed Conversion and Carcass Quality of Growing Turkeys

ABSTRACT ESTROGENIC compounds have been widely used to increase the finish and carcass quality of poultry. From a practical standpoint, oral administration of the estrogenic compounds offers advantages over the implantation method. Various workers have shown that diethylstilbestrol administered in the form of pellets or paste improves the growth and finish of turkeys (Stadelman, 1951; Almquist and Merritt, 1952; Lorenz, 1944; Smyth and Vondell, 1955; and Adams, 1956). Diethylstilbestrol has a relatively low oral estrogenic potency for chickens (Japp 1945; and Munro and Kosin, 1946). Large doses are required to produce fattening (Thayer, Jaap and Penquite, 1944; Lorenz, 1945; and Glazener and Jull, 1946). Thayer and Davis (1948) found that feeding dianisylhexene and triphenylchloroethylene improved the finish of turkey broilers and largely eliminated the incidence of pinfeathers. Hixson and Thompson (1951) observed that triphenlychloroethylene and triphenylbromoethylene improved the market value of male turkeys; but marked retardation of gains in weight occurred . . .