The digestibility of linseed oil and mutton fat by chicks

Abstract

1. There was no evidence that the higher body temperature of the chick, compared with other animals, conferred any advantage on it in the digestion of high melting-point fats, as exemplified by mutton fat.2. The digestibility of linseed oil ranged from 95·0 to 99·9%. The highest digestibility observed for mutton fat was 88·1%.3. The capacity to digest considerable quantities of linseed oil was rapidly developed in the chick. Adaptation to digest mutton fat was much slower.