Counteracting the Growth Retardation of Raw Soybean Meal with Extra Protein and Calories

Abstract

Day-old or 3-week-old chicks were given raw or heated soybean diets alone or supplemented with extra protein or corn oil or both. The one-day-old chicks did not respond well to protein, amino acid, or corn oil supplementation when the diet contained more than 15% raw soybean protein. On the other hand, 3-week-old chicks responded very well to supplementation of raw soybean diets with protein or corn oil, or both. With 27% raw soy protein and 15% additional corn oil, growth equivalent to that of 27% heated soy protein without extra corn oil was obtained. Thus, the growth depression of raw meal could be overcome through protein and calorie supplementation. At equivalent levels of energy and protein intake, however, the raw soybean diets were inferior to heated soybean diets indicating that the nutritional defect responsible for the growth depression on raw soybean diets affects energy and protein utilization.