DECREASED CELL-MEDIATED-IMMUNITY AND LACK OF SKELETAL PROBLEMS IN BROILER-CHICKENS CONSUMING DIETS AMENDED WITH FUSARIC ACID

Young female broiler chickens fed diets amended with 0, 35, 75, and 15 0 mg fusaric acid (FA)/kg diet for 3 weeks showed no aberrations in be havior, feed intake, weight gain, or appearance of the visceral organs . Furthermore, there was no correlation between the dietary concentrat ion of FA and incidence of tibial dyschondroplasia and leg-shape defor mities. Ash content of dry fat-free tibiae was not influenced by FA; t hus, no rickets was present in these chickens. FA enhanced the humoral response to sheep ertyhrocytes but significantly reduced cell-mediate d cutaneous response to phytohemagglutinin-P.