Quantitative evaluation of 1-alpha-hydroxycholecalciferol as a cholecalciferol substitute for broilers.

Two experiments were conducted using a corn-soybean meal diet that meets or exceeds the NRC (1984) requirements for all nutrients except cholecalciferol (D3) to determine the effectiveness of 1-alpha-hydroxycholecalciferol (1alpha-OHD3) as a substitute for D3 in the diet of young broilers. Ross x Ross mixed-sex, 1-d-old chicks were reared in Petersime battery brooders not exposed to ultraviolet light with feed and water supplied ad libitum for 16 d. In Experiment 1, D3 was fed at 0, 2.5, 5, 10, 20, and 40 microg/kg and one source of 1alpha-OHD3-(Hoffmann-LaRoche, Inc.; HLR) was fed at 0.625, 1.25, 2.5, 5, and 10 microg/kg of diet. In Experiment 2, the D3 was fed at 0, 2.5, 5, and 10 microg and two sources of 1alpha-OHD3-[HLR and Majestic Research Inc. (MRI)] were fed at 0, 0.625, 1.25, and 5 microg/kg of diet. Slope ratio analysis of data from the measurement of 16-d body weight, plasma Ca, rickets, and bone ash indicated bioavailability of the 1alpha-OHD3 as compared to D3 from 1.88 to 21.2. Percentage bone ash gave the most precise values in both experiments. Considering all the data from both experiments, the 1alpha-OHD3 appears to be approximately eight times as effective as D3 for satisfying the requirements of several criteria in two experiments with broiler chickens.