STUDIES ON SOME BIOLOGECAl RESPONSES OIF MAlE AND FEMAUE LOCAl CHICKS TO THE ANTIOESTROGENIC DRUG T AMOXlFEN

Abstract

The present study was cmTiecl out at Sakha Expetili1enta1 Station. Kafer EI-Shcikh Governorate, beloi1ging to Animal Production Research lnst itute, Ministry of Agriculture during the period from December. 1998 to .Janumy, 2000. The aim of this work was mainly to. study some biological responses of male and female chicks to the antioestrogenic dmg tamoxifen (TAM) when adminsterecl as intraperitoneal i1 jections of different doses: zero (TAMO). 0.5 mg/kg B W. {T AM0.5), 5 mg!kg 13. W. (TAM 5.0) and I 0 0 mg/kg body weight (TAM I 0). lt jections were applied once each thfee clays for six successive weeks. A total of 1528 one-week-old chicks of the local strain Gimmizah were cliviclecl into folir main groups according to the age of birds at the onset ofTAM treatments as follows: ..... The first group (/\) Adtilinistcrcd TAM from the I '1 to the 71h weeI' of .age.

..... The second group (13): Administered TAM ft•om the 51

to the

I 1 111 week of age. ..... The third group (C) i\drninistered TAM from the 91h to the 15111 week of ngc. ..... The fourth group (D): Administered TAM ft-om the 13111 to the 19111 week of ngc. All chickens were wing-bnnded. itlcliviclually weighed to the nearest grmn and brooded in floor pe11s at sta11ing temperature of 35°C il11d decreilsecl grildtiillly down to 2]0C at end of the brooding period. Chicks were feel on starter ration contilining 18.15% crude protein and 2855 I\..C'<1 L M Elkg of diet up to 10 weeks of ilge. Then i1 grower mtion cont<1ining 14.64% crude protein and 2783 I<..CaiiVIE/kg of diet from 10•20 weeks of age and lilyer ration thereafter contilining I 5. 77% crude pi"otein and 2714 K.Cal. M. E/kg of diet were used. Characteristics investigated included; growth performance ;mel feed conversion . comb l:1ctor. relative weight and/or length or some