Some Results of Feeding Antibiotics to Chickens

Abstract AFTER the growth response of chicks due to the feeding of antibiotics was reported by Stokstand and Jukes (1950), experimentation along this line was stimulated and many reports of investigations have appeared. Many phases of the problem, however, have not yet been explained or fully explored. The results of experiments conducted in this laboratory are presented, therefore, in order to assist in an understanding of the problem and hence in the application of the use of antibiotics in feeding poultry. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Five experiments have been conducted. Cockerel chicks of a Red-Rock Cross from three sources were used in the experiments. Twenty-five chicks were included per lot in four of the experiments and 30 chicks per lot in the fifth. All of the chicks were brooded on wire-mesh floors. The rations are given in Table 1. A diet which is primarily a vegetable protein ration, and is so designated, was . . .