Dieldrin Residues in Eggs and Fat of Penned Pheasant Hens

Abstract

Fat and egg yolks from pheasants administered different levels of dieldrin by capsule once a week for 13 weeks were analyzed for residues of the insecticide. Residues in egg yolks increased each week following treatment and decreased during a 14-day period after the final treatment. From 19 to 37% of the dieldrin administered was excreted via the egg yolk. At the conclusion of the experiment the dieldrin content of the fat was higher than that of the egg yolks in all but one bird. The difference in the level of residue in fat was found to be highly significant (P< 0.01) between treatment groups while the levels in the egg yolks were not significantly different (P > 0.05) even though the average dieldrin content was greater for the higher treatment.