Effect of lead ingestion on concentrations of lead in tissues and eggs of laying Tsaiya ducks in Taiwan

Biology Research Department, Taiwan Animal Health Research Institute, Tansui.

This experiment was conducted to investigate Pb concentrations in soft tissues and eggs from laying Tsaiya ducks (Anas platyrhynchos var. domestica), dosed via gelatin capsule with 10 or 20 mg Pb/kg BW daily for 3 mo. Body weights of ducks were not influenced by Pb treatment. In addition, no clinical syndromes involving Pb intoxication were found throughout the experiment. The two levels of Pb consistently resulted in increases in the Pb content of blood, kidney, liver, and gizzard, whereas only 20 mg Pb/kg BW per d of dose additionally increased the Pb in femoral muscle. More Pb was deposited in the kidney and liver after Pb exposure than in the gizzard or femoral muscle. Lead residues in yolk and eggshell from Pb-dosed ducks were significantly higher than in controls; however, Pb in albumen was generally low and was not influenced by Pb treatment.