Levels of bromine (Br) in groundwater that exceeded guideline concentrations of 0.01 mg/L prompted the investigation of the effect Br and iodine (I) in drinking water on the production parameters of broilers. The research was done over a 42-day growth period, post-hatch, in which the trial design was: Control: 0 mg Br/L and 0 mg I/L; 1 mg Br/L and 0 mg I/L; 3 mg Br/L and 0 mg I/L; 0 mg Br/L and 0.7 mg I/L; 1 mg Br/L and 0.7 mg I/L; 3 mg Br/L and 0.7 mg I/L, by 3 replicates with 30 birds/replicate, using mixed Ross broiler chickens. Br and I were administered as NaBr and KI. Mortalities, water and feed intakes were recorded daily and live weight once a week. Average daily gains and feed conversion rations were calculated. Different treatments of Br, irrespective of I, decreased water and feed intake significantly. The interaction of Br and I had no significant effect on intake of water or feed. I had an effective ameliorating effect on Br. Bromine administered at 1 and 3 mg Br/L or at ingestion rates of 1.59 and 4.44 mg Br/day affected production parameters.

The study pursued the hypothesis that bromine (Br) in drinking water at levels > 0.01 mg Br/L may have detrimental effects on the liver, kidneys and thyroid and the thyroid hormones T 3 and T 4 and that iodine (I) may alleviate the potential hazardous effect of Br. The research was done with mixed Ross broiler chickens over a 42-day post-hatch growth period. The trial design was six treatments, T1: 0 mg Br/L and 0 mg I/L; T2: 1 mg Br/L and 0 mg I/L; T3: 3 mg Br/L and 0 mg I/L; T4: 0 mg Br/L and 0.7 mg I/L; T5: 1 mg Br/L and 0.7 mg I/L; and T6: 3 mg Br/L and 0.7 mg I/L delivered via drinking water and three replicates per treatment with 30 birds per replicate. The effect of Br on T 3 and T 4 levels overall was nonsignificant, but T 3 and T 4 levels decreased between Weeks 4 and 6 with a significant effect at Week 6 on T 3 . Br had an overall effect on the thyroid gland (P = 0.0457), liver (P = 0.0025) and kidney (P = 0.0032), and had accumulated in these three organs. Histopathological assessment showed explicit damage to the livers that received the Br treatments. Iodine (0.07 mg/L) ameliorated the negative effects of high Br (3 mg/L Br) concentration and ingestion.

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