Vitamin A toxicosis in the chick and turkey poults.

Susceptibility to vitamin A (vit A) toxicosis was compared in Single Comb White Leghorn chicks, broilers, and turkey poults by giving an aqueous vit A solution of varying concentrations by crop intubation. Results of these studies indicate a differential response to vit A toxicosis within breeds and across species. Pair-fed treatments clearly demonstrated that the effects of excess vit A on bone calcification were independent of anorexia. A comparison between turkey poults receiving either a constant dietary level of vit A or vit A by gavage showed that the latter markedly increased the severity of vit A. toxicosis.