Influence of Dietary Cupric Sulfate on the Response of Young Turkeys to Penicillin-Streptomycin (1:3) ,

Abstract

COPPER was recognized as an important nutrient, along with iron, in normal red blood cell formation in rats by Hart et al. (1928). Hart et al. (1929) and Elvehjem and Hart (1929) extended these findings to chicks. For many years, the addition of cupric sulfate (copper sulfate or bluestone) to poultry diets has been a common practice. Poultry and swine producers have fed high levels of copper for various reasons. Barber et al. (1955) reported as much growth improvement in pigs receiving 250 parts per million (p.p.m.) of copper from cupric sulfate, as when 4.5 mg. of aureomycin per pound was added to the ration. Wallace (1968) summarized much of the research concerning the feeding of copper to swine. He concluded that feeding high levels of copper would stimulate a beneficial response in daily gain and feed conversions. Levels of copper from 100 to 375 p.p.m. appeared to give the…