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Growth and food intake of intact and pinealectomised chickens treated with melatonin and triiodothyronine |
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| Authors: | M. H. Injidi J. M. Forbes |
| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Physiology, College of Veterinary Medicine , University of Baghdad , Iraq;2. Department of Animal Physiology and Nutrition , University of Leeds , Leeds , LS2 9JT , England |
| Abstract: | 1. Male chickens of an egg‐laying strain were used in an investigation of the effects of pinealectomy at 1 d after hatching. 2. Pinealectomised birds killed at 28 d of age were significantly heavier than sham‐operated chickens; intraperitoneal treatment of intact birds during the same period with 10 mg melatonin/kg d depressed weight gain, while 200 μg triiodothyronine (T3)/kg d given intramuscularly had no effect. 3. Pinealectomized birds aged 11 weeks ate some food during the night, in contrast to intact birds, and ate significantly more food per 24 h; their short‐term food intake responded to melatonin and T3 in a manner similar to that of intact birds. 4. The electroencephalogram (EEG) of pinealectomised birds was affected to a slight degree by darkness, while in intact chickens there is a rapid and marked change in the EEG. |
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