Effects of Dietary Boron on Poultry Bone Strength

The effects of dietary boron on the ultimate shear force, shear stress, and shear fracture energy of the tibia, humerus, and radius from White Leghorn layers were investigated. The shear force, stress, and fracture energy of the bones were not affected by increasing levels of dietary boron during the last four weeks of egg production. The quantity of boron in meat and bone tissue samples increased with increasing levels of boron. The liver from birds fed 56 mg/kg boron contained 3.3 times more boron than the control birds, the breast 1.8 times, the thigh 2.7 times, and the bone tissue 2.4 times. The results suggest that it may be possible to add another marketing dimension to poultry products using boron as an additive for elderly people needing to combat brittle bones.