Studies on Blood Sugar and Glycogen Levels in Chickens

Abstract

IT HAS been reported that mature New Hampshire pullets will tolerate high concentrations of low-grade sugar (Rosenberg, 1953a) and B-grade molasses (Rosenberg, 1953b) for at least 20 weeks. No adverse physiological effects, denoted by unthriftiness and mortality, were observed even when all the cereal grains in their rations were supplanted by either low-grade sugar or B-grade molasses. However, efficiency of feed utilization progressively worsened as the concentration of these byproducts from the sugar industry was increased. It has been reported, also, that Ingram et al. (1950) obtained good egg production during a 4-week trial with chickens fed purified diets in which sucrose was the principal source of carbohydrate. Since sucrose is the principal sugar in low-grade sugar and B-grade molasses, questions have been raised regarding the ability of the chicken to utilize efficiently these carbohydrate feedstuffs. Golden and Long (1942), in their excellent review of carbohydrate metabolism in avian species, …