title: Energy and nitrogen metabolism of chickens subjected to infection and reinfection with Eimeria acervulina.
abstract: 1. The effects of E. acervulina on energy and nitrogen metabolism were studied in respiration chambers on four groups of four broilers aged 16 d: group C was infected with 1.1 x 10(6) oocysts/bird on day 1 and fed ad libitum, while groups A, B and D were pair-fed to group C to day 16 of the experiment. On day 17, groups A and C were given 5.0 x 10(6) oocysts/bird and fed ad libitum, while group B was pair-fed to group A and group D was pair-fed to group C to the end of experiment on day 32. 2. Dietary ME as a proportion of gross energy (0.68) and N retention (42 g/100 g N intake) were reduced in the infected group C compared with pair-fed controls (0.75 and 49 g, respectively) for the period 1 to 16 d. Subsequent challenge of group C saw no effects on the two variables, but metabolisability (0.65) and N retention (33 g) were significantly reduced in group A when infected for the first time on day 17. 3. The daily heat production and food intake of group A infected for the first time with E. acervulina on day 17, and group B, their pair-fed controls, were reduced during days 20 to 25 but no such reductions were observed in group C, receiving a challenge dose of E. acervulina, and group D, non-infected pair-fed to group C. The efficiency of utilisation of ME for growth of groups C and D was 0.60 over the 17 to 32 d period. 4. Challenge of immune birds did not affect the apparent digestibility of total minerals, calcium and phosphorus.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D002645:Chickens / Q000378:metabolism*; D003048:Coccidiosis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000662:veterinary*; D002149:Energy Intake; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000378:metabolism*; D011201:Poultry Diseases / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D009584:Nitrogen