Sodium and Chloride Requirements of the Chick: Relationship to Acid-Base Balance

Abstract

The sodium and chloride requirements of broiler-chicks have been evaluated in view of the interaction between these ionic components of the diet in the acid-base balance of the body. In the four trials conducted, all-vegetable diets and de-ionized water were given to chicks for a period of two weeks starting at the age of one week. Blood pH was found to be a sigmoidal function of the dietary ratio of Na/Cl. The requirements of sodium and chloride were interdependent; optimal growth occurred with a Na/Cl ratio (w./w.) of unity. The moisture score of the droppings indicated a positive dependence of the moisture on the total dietary sodium and on the Na/Cl ratio. With increasing levels of an optimal sodium-chloride mixture in the diet, body weight gain increased linearly to reach a peak with a diet containing 0.13% sodium and 0.13% chloride.