RESULTS
Dietary Zinc Levels
In each of the experimental diets, the zinc level was
determined (Table 3). The control diet was not supplemented
with zinc, so zinc levels in the diet originated
from feedstuffs only. The analyzed zinc level in control
diet A was 33.5 mg/kg. This was higher than intended,
but lower than recommended by the NRC (1994). The
levels of added zinc calculated as the difference between
analyzed zinc content of a given diet minus zinc content
of the control diet were in line with the expected dose
levels. Zinc analyses in experimental diets, corrected
for added zinc from the reference and test zinc sources,
indicated that the zinc content in the basal diet most
likely was overestimated and should be 31.7 instead of
33.5 mg/kg. Results described below will refer to the
expected supplementation levels.