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The aim of the study was to determine the influence of Cu-glycine chelate on the chemical composition of the liver and blood parameters of broiler chickens. A total of 250 one-day-old Ross 308 male chicks were allotted into 5 groups with 5 replicates of 10 birds each. Rearing of birds lasted 42 days. In the experiment Cu was added to the premix in the form of CuSO4 (16 mg, 8 mg Cu), and in the form of Cu glycine chelate (16 mg, 8 mg, 4 mg Cu). The parameters in the chickens’ blood remained within the range of physiological norms when lower levels of the analyzed elements were added. Adding lower levels of Cu (8 or 4 mg kg-1) in comparison with the recommended doses (16 mg kg-1) for broilers, in the form of highly assimilable organic sources, did not reduce the content of minerals Cu, Fe, and Zn in the chickens’ liver, but reduced the faecal Fe, Cu and Zn concentrations compared to CuSO4.

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Among domestic animals, cattle and horses kept on pasture and fed with hay and straw are exposed most prominently to environmental pollution. Determination of the status of heavy metals in bodies of horses is important for two reasons. Firstly, it helps to assess the level of environmental contamination. Secondly, heavy metals can have considerable influence on animals living outdoors. The aim of the study has been to verify whether the level of Cr, Mn, Cu, Cd, Pb and Ni in the coat hair and cornified structures of hooves may differ between horses maintained alternately in a stable and on pasture and living outdoors all year long, with Polish Koniks from Mazury (the Masurian Lake District) taken as an example. Possible effects of the feeding season and age of horses were considered. In total, 35 Polish Konik horses were examined, either kept in a stable-pasture system in Popielno or outdoors in Wojnowo. Sixty-two samples of summer and winter coat hair, 28 samples of hoof horn, as well as 10 samples of pasture plants and water were analyzed. The data were elaborated with the use multi-factor analysis of variance, T-Tukey-Kramer test and Pearson's correlation. The results show that Polish Konik horses bred in Mazury have a low heavy metal concentration in the coat hair and hoof horn. The stable-pasture and outdoor maintenance systems hardly differentiate the element content, whereas the winter feeding results in prof. dr hab.