A Determination of the Order of Limitation of Amino Acids in a Broiler Breeder Diet

Abstract

The order of limitation of amino acids in a corn soybean meal diet was determined for broiler breeder hens. Methionine was added to ensure that sulfur amino acids were not limiting. A control diet was fed which met all amino acid requirements for the hens. Corn replaced soybean meal in the deficient diet. The addition of lysine (Lys) to this diet improved performance significantly. The addition of tryptophan (Trp) resulted in further improvement in performance. The addition of Arginine (Arg) or Arg and Valine (Val) did not improve performance. However, when Arg, Val, Threonine and Isoleucine were added to the diet supplemented with Lys and Trp, a numerical (non-significant) improvement in performance was obtained.