The effect of dietary calcium upon growth rate, food utilisation and plasma constituents in lines of chickens selected for aspects of growth or body composition

1. The effect of increasing dietary calcium from 10.3 to 20 g/kg on 5- to 17-day growth performance and plasma minerals, electrolytes, total protein, albumin and glucose in chickens from 4 lines selected for: high 8-week body weight (W), low abdominal fat (L), high abdominal fat (F) or at random (C) was studied in two experiments. 2. High dietary calcium significantly reduced weight gain and plasma phosphate and potassium but increased food:gain ratio, plasma total calcium, glucose and albumin. 3. Significant correlations were found between plasma total calcium and plasma phosphate (r = -0.5, P less than 0.01), plasma total calcium and protein (r = 0.4, P less than 0.01) and between plasma total protein and albumin (r = 0.55, P less than 0.01). 4. Genotypes differed in their response to dietary calcium content. There was a substantial response in line F but little effect in line L. 5. In contrast to the three other lines, in line F high dietary calcium significantly increased plasma ionised calcium without altering plasma phosphate or total calcium concentration. 6. It was concluded that genetic selection has produced lines which vary in their tolerance to high dietary concentrations of calcium. Birds selected for increased fatness were less tolerant to high dietary calcium than their lean-selected counterparts.