Fatma 0. Ibnouf and E. A. El-Zubeir

Department of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Production, University of Khartoum,
P. 0. Box 32, Khartoum North, Sudan

Summary

Experiments were conducted to determine the effect of tannic acid or tannin (from sorghum gluten feed) on incidence of leg abnormalities in broiler chicks fed low and high calcium : phosphorus ratios.

Experiment 1 was 2×2 factorial arrangement utilizing 0.8 : 0.3 and 2 : 0.9 Ca : P ratio without and with 0.5% tannic acid. 35% of the chicks fed the diet containing low Ca : P ratio with 0.5% tannic acid showed leg abnormalities whereas the incidence of leg abnormalities was eliminated by widening Ca : P ratio in the presence of tannic acid. In experiment 2 the same Ca : P ratio of experiment 1 with 0.1% tannin showed leg abnormalities. The incidence of leg abnormalities was reduced to 6% in chicks given high Ca : P ratio with tannin.

Neither widening Ca : P ratio nor adding tannic acid or tannin had significant effect on tibia ash or tibia Ca, P, Mg, Mn, Zn and Cu content. Results of this study indicate that widening Ca : P ratio counteracts the adverse effect of tannin in legs of broiler chicks.

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