Effect on performance of a low level mixture of organochlorine insecticides in broiler breeder feed

Abstract

A mixture of hexachlorobenzene, -, ß-, and -hexachlorocyclohexane, heptachlor, , '-DDT, and dieldrin was added, at three different levels up to 1 mg/kg, to broiler breeders feed for 68 weeks with a view to studying performance. Body weight, mortality, egg production percentage, and number of eggs produced per hen were unaffected by the treatment. Egg quality as measured by egg weight, specific gravity of the egg, and egg-shell thickness was equally unaffected. Fertility, hatchability, and neonatal mortality did not show that the treatment of the broiler breeders had any detrimental effect on their

Accumulation of organochlorine pesticides in poultry: a review

“…They are all calculated (if possible) on p,p-DDT in the feed and p,p-DDT + p,p-DDE in the product. The range is partly explicable by the influence of egg production as shown by Cecil et al (1973) and our own experiments (Kan and Tuinstra, 1976; Kan and Jonker-den Rooyen, 1978a). The low values of Singh et al (1970) and Smith et al (1970) are probably due to the use of a mixture of , '-DDT and other isomers or metabolites, but no details on this point are available.…”

“…To discover these possible inconsistencies in pesticide legislation, we tested a mixture of several organochlorine pesticides on different types of poultry: broiler breeders, broilers, and laying hens (Kan and Tuinstra, 1976; Kan and Jonker-den Rooyen, 1978a,b; .…”

“…(3) Ritchey et al (1967) detected an interaction between DDT and lindane during residue formation in broilers, although de Vos et al (1972) could not find similar effects. (4) External factors like soil contamination (Putnam et al" 1974), HCB in woodshavings (Kan and Tuinstra, 1976), or HCB residues in a laying house (Kan and Jonker-den Rooyen, 1978b) will also influence residue found. As the necessary details are lacking in most reports, these and other possible factors cannot be completely taken into consideration in the following discussions.…”

Possible influence of sex and embryonic content on accumulation of some organochlorine pesticides in broilers

“…Hatching eggs were collected from the broiler breeders (Kan and Tuinstra, 1976a) for 14 days in August 1974. Of 1600 chickens hatched, 256 male and 256 female day-old chicks from the two parent groups I and IV [control and highest dosed group, respectively, identical with this experiment (Table I)], were taken at random.…”

“…In the published work, few broilers were used, so that effects of low levels of organochlorine pesticides on growth, feed conversion, and mortality were not demonstrated. An effect on feed conversion was detected during rearing of our broiler breeders (Kan and Tuinstra, 1976a).…”