Effect of dietary zearalenone on reproduction of chickens

Variable quantities of zearalenone (0, 10, 25, 50, 100, 200, 400, or 800 mg/kg diet) were incorporated into a practical laying hen diet and fed to 30-week-old White Leghorn females in egg production. During the 3 week pretest and 8 week experimental periods hens were inseminated weekly with .05 ml of pooled semen from males fed normal diets. Zearalenone was without effect on egg production, egg size, feed consumption, change in body weight, fertility, hatchability of fertile eggs, growth of progeny to 3 weeks of age, comb, weight, oviduct weight, heart weight, liver weight, spleen weight, egg shell thickness, Haugh units, blood hematology, serum calcium, serum inorganic phosphorus, and serum alkaline phosphatase. Zearalenone above 50 mg/kg of diet caused reduced serum cholesterol. In a reciprocal study, adult male New Hampshire chickens were fed diets containing 0, 100, or 800 mg/kg zearalenone for an 8 week period. Semen was collected and inseminated into White Leghorn females fed normal diets. Zearalenone was without effect on fertility or hatch of fertile eggs resulting from matings of these males. Zearalenone resulted in reduced serum inorganic phosphorus, serum cholesterol, and serum alkaline phosphatase in males. Histological examination of a number of tissues in both males and females revealed no changes due to zearalenone feeding. It is concluded that zearalenone up to 800 mg/kg of diet is without effect on reproductive performance of mature chickens.