Factors Influencing Body N:H2O Ratio of Growing Chicks

BENDER and Miller (1953a) developed a carcass analysis procedure for determining net protein value (NPV) of feedstuffs. This procedure does not involve separation of feces and urine, which had been a problem in applying nitrogen balance techniques to poultry, and requires a minimum of analytical work. Bender and Miller (1953b) suggested a further simplification when they demonstrated that body N:H2O of the rat was related to age. Only carcass H2O was required to determine NPV. Others (Dreyer, 1957, and De Muelenaere et al., 1960b) substantiated the body N:H2O to age relationship for the rat. These workers noted that their equations differed from the Bender and Miller equation (1953b) but suggested that this could be strain effect. The relationship of body N and H2O to age has been studied in the chick. De Muelenaere et al. (1960a) found the multiple regression of body H2O and age on body nitrogen to be…