Vitamin K deficiency does not functionally impair skeletal metabolism of laying hens and their progeny

The purpose of this research was to determine the effect of vitamin K deficiency on indices of skeletal metabolism in laying hens, developing embryos and young growing chickens. Laying hens were fed a vitamin K-deficient diet for 28 wk, which resulted in impaired blood clotting and reduced bone gamma-carboxyglutamic acid (Gla) concentration compared with vitamin K-sufficient hens. However, this treatment did not influence egg production, eggshell deposition or other reproductive performance criteria. Vitamin K-deficient embryos were able to mobilize sufficient quantities of calcium for normal skeletal development, although they exhibited severe reduction in blood clotting and bone Gla concentration. Similar results were obtained from progeny of both vitamin K-sufficient and -deficient hens fed deficient diets for 4 wk after hatching. These results indicate that a severe reduction in skeletal protein Gla concentration does not interfere with normal development of this tissue.