The Vitamin B6 Requirement of the Chick

THE essential nature of vitamin B6 for the chick was first shown by Carter and O’Brien (1939), Hegsted, Oleson, Elvehjem, and Hart (1939), and Jukes (1939). No attempt was made by these workers to establish the actual requirement of this vitamin, probably because their rations were low in other necessary factors as evidenced by the poor growth obtained at three weeks when vitamin B6 was added to their rations. Stokstad, Manning, and Rogers (1940) reported that chicks receiving 250 micrograms of vitamin B6 per 100 grams of ration weighed 99 grams at three weeks. Increasing the level of vitamin B6 produced no increase in growth. These workers state that their basal ration was also low in factor U. The first observations on the actual requirement of the chick for vitamin B6 were made by Hogan, Richardson, Patrick, O’Dell, and Kempster (1941) while studying anemia and perosis in chicks. These workers . . .