Studies of the Need for Supplemental Biotin in Chick Rations

Abstract

BIOTIN, an essential nutrient for poultry, is widely distributed in plant tissues both in a free and a bound form. Generally the feedstuffs used in commercial poultry rations have been considered to supply enough of the vitamin to make supplemental biotin unnecessary. Within the past 3 years several reports have appeared which indicate that biotin is deficient in certain turkey rations. This has stimulated more research on the need for biotin in poultry rations. Bauernfeind (1969) has summarized several reports on the role the vitamin plays in animals, factors affecting the need for supplemental biotin in practical rations, and results of tests to determine the biotin content of feedstuffs. Several years ago, when experiments were being conducted here to study the value of enzyme supplements in barley rations, it was noted that wheat and barley appeared to provide the chick with a much lower biotin level than microbiological (MB) assay. . .