Comparative metabolism of 14C-decoquinate in chickens, quail and sheep

Removal of pulse doses of 14C-decoquinate from blood was studied in chicken hens, quail hens, and ewe lambs. Estimated clearance before the first post-injection sample at 1 1/2 hr was 96% for sheep, 99% for chickens and over 99% for quail. Half-times for removal of the remaining radioactivity from the blood were 26.8 hr for sheep, 144.7 hr for chickens and 27.2 hr for quail. Treating the chicken data as biphasic yielded a 3.4 hr half-time for an initial fast phase and 210 hr for a later slow phase. Radioactivity disappeared from sheep blood between 2 and 7 d, from chicken blood between 7 and 14 d, and from quail blood between 1 and 2 d. Urine accounted for 35% of the radioactivity administered to sheep. It did not contain detectable activity after the third day.