Dried Lactating Cow Manure in the Ration of Growing Chickens

SINCE the pioneer work of Bechdel et al. (1928) indicating that vitamin B was synthesized in the rumen of the cow, a series of experiments have been reported confirming this observation with data on the extent of synthesis and amounts of several members of the B-complex in ruminant animals (McElroy and Goss, 1939-40-41; Wegner et al., 1940–41; Hunt et al., 1941–43; Lardinois et al., 1944; Hammond, 1944; Frey and Kratzer, 1945). Recently several reports have appeared indicating that part of the B-vitamins synthesized in the rumen and also in the digestive tract (Lampen et al., 1942) pass through the digestive system. Hammond (1942) reported that dried cow manure had a marked beneficial effect on growth in chicks if added to a diet deficient in riboflavin. Later, Hammond (1944) reported that summer cow manure contained about 5.7 γ/gm. and winter manure about 4.3 γ/gm. of riboflavin when dried at 47°C. This . . .