The Folic Acid Requirement of Turkey Poults on a Purified Diet

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Abstract
The folic acid requirement for normal growth of poults on a purified ration is 2.0 mg per kilogram of feed. At the 25% and 43% protein levels of the purified ration, 2.0 mg of folic acid per kilogram of feed is required to prevent cervical paralysis. No cervical paralysis occurred in the group which consumed the turkey starting mash. When the level of folic acid was 2.0 mg per kilogram of feed, normal feathering was observed in the poults receiving the purified diet with 43% protein, but at the same folic acid level those fed the purified diet containing 25% protein showed feathering that was distinctly subnormal. Although the hemoglobin values for the poults which did not develop cervical paralysis showed no direct relationship to the level of the folic acid supplement on either of the purified diets, they were higher, 11.6–12.7 gm, on the diet containing 43% protein than those on the diet containing 25% protein, 8.8–10.5 gm. Those obtained on the 43% protein diet were essentially of the same order as that observed with the poults on the turkey starting mash. For the birds which developed cervical paralysis, the hemoglobin values were lower and ranged from 5.7 to 7.3 gm per 100 ml of blood.