The influence of procaine penicillin G and 3-nitro-4-hydroxy-phenylarsonic acid upon broilers

The growth of the poultry industry during the past decade has been phenomenal. Competition has decreased the margin of income between cost of producing broilers and the sales price. Increased efficiency of production has become paramount throughout the industry. As over 60 percent of the total cost of producing broilers is feed cost, considerable attention has been directed toward dietary growth promoting substances.

The use of antibiotics and arsenicals in supplementing broiler rations has been investigated by numerous workers. Some of these investigators reported that antibiotics aided in obtaining a quality broiler; whereas, others have been unable to give conclusive decisions regarding the value of antibiotics in broiler rations.

It is theorized that antibiotics and arsenicals may suppress certain pathogenic intestinal microflora which allow the broiler to better utilize that food nutrients, thereby permitting increased feed efficiency. Other values assigned antibiotics in the diet are that they: (1) inhibit enterotoxemia, (2) decrease vitamin B requirements, (3) allow the synthesis of unknown growth promoting vitamins, and (4) produce a more desirable balance of intestinal microflora. Any or all of these hypothesis may be true but are yet to be verified.

As the value of antibiotics and arsenicals used to supplement broiler rations remained in question, a series of tests using procaine penicillin G and 3-Nitro-4-Hydroxyphenylarsonic acid were initiated to study the value of these compounds.