Factors Affecting Manganese Utilization in the Chicken

Abstract

The finding that phosphorus supplementation to a perosisproducing diet did not aggravate perosis indicates that phosphorus per se is not a causative factor. Excess calcium in the diet is apparently essential for the stimulation of perosis. It has been shown that insoluble calcium phosphate can remove manganous ions from solution. The decrease in diffusible manganese in the intestinal contents of chicks which was observed after feeding steamed bone meal is apparently due to this action of calcium phosphate. Ferric hydroxide also removed manganese from solution. Ferric citrate in the diet increased the severity of perosis.