Effects of feeding ethyl mercury chloride to chickens

Four groups, 0, 5, 10 and 20%, of Single Comb White Leghorn chickens (30 males plus 30 females each) were fed a diet which contained either 0, 5, 10 or 20% ethyl mercury chloride dressed wheat for a period of 88 days. The wheat was dressed with the organic mercury compound at the rate of 500 gm. ethyl mercury chloride per metric ton of wheat. Therfore, the diets contained respectively 0, 25, 50 and 100 mg. organic mercury compound/kg. With average daily feed consumption of 101, 102, 101 and 98 gm. by the individual birds of the respective groups, the birds did not show any symptoms of disease during the course of the study. Egg production, egg quality and mortality of the treatment groups were comparable with those of the control group. The amount of residual mercury in egg white and yolk was determined at intervals. The residual mercury of egg white of the treatment groups was about three times as much as that of egg yolk, and made its significant appearance in the 20% group on the third day of the trial. The concentration was increasing with time in both white and yolk and was parallel to the concentration of the organic mercury in the diet. The liver followed by the kidney of both sexes accumulated the highest amounts of mercury. Tissues of female birds accumulated less mercury than tissues of male birds did probably due to the passage of some of the ingested mercury with the egg white and yolk. The results were discussed on the basis that the kind of mercury compound, daily intake and duration of treatment play major roles in the determination of induced effects.