The effects of opioid antagonists on ingestive behavior in the domestic fowl

The effects of opioid antagonists on food and water intake in commercial stocks of chickens were investigated. Four experiments were conducted to examine the effects of naloxone (N-allylnoroxymorphone) and naltrexone (N-cyclopropylnoroxymorphone) in broiler and Single-Comb White Leghorn cockerels. Birds were injected intramuscularly with either naloxone HCl or naltrexone HCl at doses from 2.5 to 10 mg/kg. Food and water were offered ad lib 15 min post-injection. In broilers, naloxone dose-dependently attenuated food and water consumption for 300 min, while in Leghorns naloxone attenuated food and water intake for 240 and 300 min, respectively. Naltrexone dose-dependently reduced food and water consumption for 300 min in both broilers and Leghorns. Neither naloxone nor naltrexone significantly altered food or water intake at 24 hr. A fifth experiment was conducted to verify the specificity of opioid antagonism for water intake. Broiler cockerels received an intraperitoneal injection of either isotonic saline (0.15 M NaCl) or hypertonic saline (2.5 M NaCl) followed by an intramuscular injection of either isotonic saline or naloxone HCl (5 mg/kg). Food was withheld for the entire experiment while water was offered ad lib 15 min following the second injection. Naloxone significantly attenuated drinking in normally hydrated and osmotically challenged birds for 150 min. The results suggest a role for endogenous opioid peptides in the regulation of food and water intake in meat and egg-laying stocks of chickens.