Effect of dietary citrinin on urine excretion in broiler chickens

Eight 4-week-old broiler chickens were used to study the effects of dietary citrinin on water consumption, urine excretion, and fecal moisture. The birds were colostomized by exteriorizing the colon directly below the vent. Plastic bags were attached to collect feces. Corn containing the various levels of citrinin was fed for 4 hr. Water consumption and urine excretion were measured, and fecal samples were retained for moisture determination. Analysis of variance indicated citrinin increased (p less than 0.05) both water consumption and urine excretion. Regression analysis isolated the linear component as being significant (p less than 0.05) for both water consumption and urine excretion, identifying the responses as linear through the bounds of the treatment levels. Fecal moisture showed no changes (p less than 0.05). The correlation coefficients yielded significant relationships between treatment vs. water consumption, treatment vs urine excretion and water consumption vs urine excretion.