The occurrence of potentially hazardous chemical constituents (PHCC) in subterranean water and the divergent potential for bioaccumulation in different production systems, made it necessary to investigate the effect of alleviator treatment on the accumulation of PHCC in broiler tissues. Local poultry producers are faced with the opportunities to expand their poultry products to overseas countries, therefore, the quality measures must be in place to comply with strict quality control systems like the European Union standards. The effect of water quality on the health and production parameters in broilers and layers has recently been questioned as to its compliance with both the export and local markets. The effects of water quality constituents (WQC) are a function of the type and character of the WQC, the intake rates and exposure to WQC, the type of animal and its physiology and the demands of the environment. Where the livestock and humans use the same water source, the livestock can be an effective indicator species of the risk posed to humans. The study evaluated the effectiveness of TOS and Br as possible alleviators of PHCC accumulation in broiler tissues grown under intensive production system. Broilers received four types of treatment: control (<500 mg/L IDS; < 0.005 mg/L Br + As + Pb), elevated elements (As=0.1 mg/L; Br=1 mg/L; Pb=0.1mg/L), elevated elements + 1500 mg/L TOS and control + 1500 mg/L TOS in drinking water from one day to 42 days old. The accumulation of PHCC in broiler tissue did not exceed maximum allowable concentrations (EU - MAC) during a short period of exposure. The groups that received TOS retained the lowest PHCC accumulation. These results suggest that TOS plus bromide in broilers' drinking water could alleviate arsenic and lead accumulation in broilers' tissues. However, the alleviation was not always significant in all the tissues. / Dissertation (MSc(Agric))--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Animal and Wildlife Sciences / unrestricted

Assessment of a significant number of water samples across South Africa by Casey and Meyer over a number of years, revealed that high concentrations (30- 32 mg/L) of bromine (Br) occur naturally within groundwater in South Africa, hence a potentially hazardous chemical constituent (PHCC). Br, the only liquid non-metallic element, is ubiquitous and an abundant trace element, but it has not been conclusively shown to perform essential functions in plants, micro organisms or animals (NRC, 2005). The recommended limit (maximum limit for no risk) for Br in drinking water was set at 1 mg/L by Kempster et al. (1980); Casey and Meyer (2001) recommend the relevant safety guideline for Br to be 0.01 mg/L. The aim of this project was to establish the effect of Br and iodine (I) in drinking water on the physiological parameters of broilers. This will contribute to verifying and refining water quality guidelines. The effect of six treatments administered as sodium bromide (NaBr) and potassium iodide (KI): 0 mg Br/L and 0 mg I/L; 1 mg Br/L; 1mg Br/L and 0.7 mg I/L; 0.7 mg I/L; 3 mg Br/L; 3 mg Br/L and 0.7 mg I/L, in the drinking water of 540 mixed Ross broiler chickens was investigated. The trial ran over a 42-day growth period from Day 1 post-hatching where mortalities, water and feed intakes were recorded daily. Chickens were weighed weekly and slaughtered at 4 and 6 weeks of age. Blood samples were taken before slaughter and free T3 and T4 hormone levels were quantified. Thyroid gland, liver and kidney samples were analysed for Br and I quantity. The different treatments of Br, irrespective of I, significantly decreased water intake (P=0.0232) and feed intake (P=0.0035) over the 42 days. The overall interaction of Br and I had no significant effect on water (P=0.0928) and feed (P=0.9593) intakes thus I did have an effective ameliorating effect on Br. FCR, weight gain and mortalities were not significantly affected by Br intake. This was also found for free T3 and T4 hormone levels. Br had an overall effect on the thyroid gland (P=0.0457), liver (P=0.0025) and kidney (P=0.0032) with accumulation of the PHCC within these three organs. It was apparent that 1 and 3 mg Br/L water administered to broilers or ingestion rates of 1.59 and 4.44 mg Br/L per bird per day, over a production period of 42 days did affect the production parameters of the birds sub-clinically. Another derivation to refine the water quality guidelines was that the administration of 0.7 mg I/L water or ingestion rates of 1.1 mg I/L per bird per day did alleviate the severe detrimental effect of the high PHCC. The 3 mg Br/L guideline is thus not too restrictive. Further research exposing the animals for a longer time period (exceeding 42 days) and exposing mature animals (producing nutritional products for human consumption) to these treatments would assist in quantifying these results. / Dissertation (MSc(Agric))--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Animal and Wildlife Sciences / unrestricted