Plasma Proteins of Chickens as Influenced by Time of Laying, Ovulation, Number of Blood Samples Taken and Plasma Volume

IN REVIEWING the literature upon plasma or serum proteins of chickens one is impressed by the considerable variation in values reported by the different investigators. Many of the studies have been based upon small numbers and give no details concerning the age, sex, state of reproduction, or other conditions. A number of workers have reported upon total proteins of the blood of chickens of various ages and conditions, but fewer individuals have studied the individual components of the proteins. Howe (1925), in reviewing some of the earlier work, reported that most of the values were too high because of the unreliability of the methods used. He gives a value for total serum proteins of 3.6 grams percent for two adult chickens, of unknown sex. The A/G ratio was 1.02. Other workers, including Dyer and Roe (1934), Chorine (1938), and Defalco (1942) reported A/G ratio (albumin to globulin) of 0.7 to . . .