Sodium Chloride in the Feed and Drinking Water of Chicks

SODIUM and chlorine are essential nutrients for the chick; however, high intakes of sodium chloride may prove toxic. Barlow et al. (1948) and Kare and Biely (1948) have reviewed much of the early literature concerning this subject. Barlow et al. (1948) observed that young chicks were more susceptible to the toxic effects of salt than were older birds; further, it was reported that the addition of 1% of salt to a practical type starter diet was optimal whereas the minimum toxic salt level was found to be 3 percent. Kare and Biely (1948) stressed the wide variation in salt tolerance between chicks within treatments; a diet containing 5.18% of sodium chloride proved lethal to some birds and harmless to others. When rations containing more than 4% of salt were fed, some birds in every group exhibited symptoms of oedema. There was no significant variation in feed efficiencies of chicks fed …