The Effect of Antibiotic Supplementation on Growth and Energy Utilization of Chicks

SEVERAL studies on the effect of antibiotic supplementation on energy metabolism showed no agreement as to the influence antibiotics have on the metabolizable energy derived from the diet. Nelson et al. (1963) reported that some, but not all, of the antibiotics they investigated increased the metabolizable energy content of a practical chick diet and that this increase in metabolizable energy content was correlated with growth stimulation and a decrease in intestinal weight. Gorril et al. (1960) concluded that an increased energy digestibility coefficient in swine was related to increased growth due to antibiotic supplementation. Sibbald et al. (1961), in studies with both chicks and poults, found no significant effects on dietary metabolizable energy content attributable to antibiotic additions to the diet. Slinger et al. (1962) reported that the addition of antibiotics to turkey starting diets had no influence on their metabolizable energy values. The experiments reported here were part of…