Studies of the Chick Edema Disease

FOR the most part, studies of the chick edema disease have been short-term, that is, of four weeks duration or less (Brew et al., 1959; Douglass and Flick, 1961; Flick et al., 1962, 1963a,b, 1965a,b; and Alexander et al., 1962. A few long-term or chronic studies have been reported (Allen, 1961. A few long-term or chronic studies have been reported (Allen, 1964; and Allen and Lalich, 1962. The studies in this report were made to extend our knowledge of the chick edema disease to include the chronic effects of feeding fat containing the chick edema factor (CEF) at low levels for twelve weeks. Day-old S. C. White Leghorn cockerels were used for these studies. On the day of receipt from the hatchery, the chicks were randomized in the shipping carton, wing-banded, weighed, and placed in cages with raised wire-mesh floors. Ten or eleven birds were placed in each cage and were fed and watered ad libitum. Room temperature …