THE INTERACTION OF BORON WITH CALCIUM, PHOSPHORUS AND CHOLECALCIFEROLIN BROILERS

Four hundred and thirty-two day-old Cobb x Cobb feather-sexed chicks w ere placed in batteries for 21 days and randomly assigned at one day o f age to eight treatment diets. The basal diet contained 22.3 ppm of b oron as determined by analysis. Tibia ash was significantly lower for birds fed diets with low calcium and phosphorus or with low cholecalci ferol. Feeding diets low in cholecalciferol increased the severity of tibial dyschondroplasia (TD) and body weight depression. Body weight, tibia ash and TD were not improved by adding 60 ppm of boron to the di et.