Summary Routine post mortem examination of 195 Thoroughbreds in Hong Kong revealed that 66 per cent suffered from gastric ulceration. Racehorses killed straight out of training suffered a significantly greater incidence of ulceration (80 per cent) than those having been retired for a month or more (52 per cent). The macroscopic findings post mortem enabled a classification of equine gastric ulceration to be suggested (Types 1, 2, 3), according to severity. Severe lesions (Types 2 and 3) were present in 45 per cent of horses put down from training and 5 per cent of retired horses. This difference was significant. Lesions appeared to be chronically progressive during training, but to regress during retirement. The observed difference of gastric ulceration between the two groups of horses was similar for different age groups.

This study assesses the impact of broilers raised without antibiotics and the information gap that exists between consumer perception and production methods. Specifically looking at risk of eye burns, footpad lesions, and airsacculitis, key indicators of animal welfare, bird-level data are collected on the occurrence and severity of each disease state by the type of antibiotic program: no antibiotics ever, nonmedically important antibiotics, or medically important antibiotics. Odds ratios and marginal effects are calculated to understand how the occurrence and severity change with access to medicine. Broilers never given antibiotics had a higher likelihood of disease states investigated, and with greater severity. In some cases, access to nonmedically important ionophores mitigated the risk of occurrence and severity of the conditions. The finding indicates that the growing trend of raising broilers without antibiotics may negatively affect animal welfare. This stands in contrast to existing consumer research showing that consumers purchase poultry raised without antibiotics because they believe that it promotes healthier animals. Therefore, a significant consumer information gap exists which needs to be addressed. JEL Codes: Q130, Q160, Q180

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Sodium zeolite A (SZA), a synthetic sodium aluminosilicate having high ion-exchange capacity, has been shown to increase eggshell specific gravity in laying hens and to improve Ca utilization in chickens. A 4 x 2 factorial arrangement of treatments was used to investigate the effect of dietary Ca (.6, .8, 1.0, and 1.2%) and SZA (0 and .75%) on growth, plasma, and tibia characteristics of chicks from 5 to 15 days of age. Increasing dietary Ca linearly increased (P less than .05) Ca and alkaline phosphatase (AP) in plasma and increased tibia shearing force and percentage ash, Ca, and P in tibiae. However, dietary Ca linearly decreased (P less than .05) inorganic P and Mg in plasma and Mg and Mn in tibiae. Sodium zeolite A decreased (P less than .05) plasma P and AP and tibia Mg but increased (P less than .05) tibia Ca, Zn, Al, and Mn concentrations. Tibia ash and shearing force were increased in chicks fed SZA receiving inadequate dietary Ca, but they were decreased in chicks fed SZA and excess Ca (Ca by SZA interaction, P less than .05). Tibia density showed a similar trend, but the effect was not significant (Ca by SZA interaction, P less than .12). The addition of SZA enhanced tibia ash, density, and shearing force when dietary Ca was low; however, when added to diets containing 1.2% Ca, SZA reduced many bone mineralization indices with the exception of tibia Ca.

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