Effects of feeding hens a high level of vomitoxin-contaminated corn on performance and tissue residues.

A balance experiment was conducted with hens fed a high level of vomitoxin (V) to study the effect on live performance, egg quality, and tissue residues of V. Twenty Single Comb White Leghorn (SCWL) hens, approximately 26 weeks of age, were individually housed in metabolic cages and fed a control (C) or V (82.8 mg/kg) diet for 27 days. No significant differences were observed in feed consumption, body weight gain, egg production, egg weight, haugh units, shell deformation, or egg shell thickness between treatments. No gross pathological lesions were observed in the oral cavity, proventriculus, small or large intestine, liver, spleen, heart, or kidney. Small erosions were present in the gizzard mucosa of birds fed the V-diet. No significant V residues were found in the yolk, albumen, egg shell, liver, kidney, thigh, or breast muscle, but levels of approximately 20 ppb were found in the gizzard. About 4.2% of the total V consumed by hens were recovered in the feces.