Vitamin E or vitamin A protects chickens against E. coli infection

The supplementation of either vitamin E (300 mg./kg. diet) or vitamin A (60,000 I.U./kg. diet) to a standard chick ration increased the protection of six week old immunized chickens against E coli infection, decreasing mortality from about 40% to 5%. The combination of the two vitamins, however, did not give as much protection as either vitamin alone. Vitamin E or A did not protect chicks from weight loss and severe morbidity due to infection, but slightly increased the rate of recovery.