Effect of time and sex on tissue selenium concentrations in chicks fed practical diets supplemented with sodium selenite or calcium selenite.

An experiment was conducted with 384 1-d-old male and female broiler-chicks. The basal corn-soybean meal diet (.07 ppm Se DM basis) was supplemented with 0, .1, .2, or .3 ppm added Se as either sodium selenite (Na2SeO3) or calcium selenite (CaSeO3), and fed for 1, 3, or 5 wk. There was no effect of Se source or level on feed intake or gain, but males consumed more (P less than .01) feed than females. There was no effect (P greater than .10) of sex or Se source on plasma, liver, or kidney Se concentration. The Se concentration of all tissues increased (P less than .01) with time and increasing dietary Se concentration. Based on multiple regression slope ratios of liver, kidney, and plasma Se concentrations, Se from CaSeO3 was as available (103%) as Se from Na2SeO3.