[Effect of vitamin B1 and vitamin E on methionine poisoning in broiler chickens]

An experiment was carried out with 100 broiler birds of the Leghorn breed, aged 20 days. The birds were divided into groups and were given various amounts of methionine--0,5, 2, and 3 per cent with the basic standard mixture. The clinical signs of methionine intoxication were followed up--drowsiness, weakness in the legs, opisthotonus, and twisting of the neck (torticollis) alons with the loss of equilibrium. It was found that with birds receiving 0.5 per cent methionine with the diet the amount of vitamins A, E, and B1 in the blood serum and the liver rose considerably, while with birds given 2 and 3 per cent methionine with the feed the amount of these vitamins dropped essentially. Therepeutic treatment with 3 mg of vitamin E and vitamin B1 each in the course of 4 to 6 days yielded a good effect. An improvement of the general condition and disappearance of the most typical symptoms of methionine intoxication were recorded.