The Effect of Various Calcium and Phosphorus Salts on the Severity of Perosis

Abstract

THE anatomical deformity of the leg bones of young chickens, known commonly as “slipped tendons” or “enlarged hocks” and more recently as perosis (Titus, 1932), has been generally recognized as a disorder distinct from rickets. The symptoms of perosis have been described fully elsewhere (Hunter and Funk, 1930; Payne, 1930, and so forth). The literature on this subject has indicated that it is a nutritional problem, that excessive calcium and phosphorus induce it and that certain feed-stuffs, such as rice bran, wheat germ, wheat middlings, and oats, possess a preventive factor. This information has been of practical value in reducing the incidence of perosis. On the other hand, the deformity still appears in the field and in the laboratory. This is perhaps due in part to a difference in the susceptibility of different breeds and strains of chicks (Payne, Hughes, and Lienhardt, 1932; Serfontein and Payne, 1934) and to different . . .