Effect of Scavenging and Supplementation of Lysine and Methionine on the Feed Intake, Performance and Carcase Quality of Improved Dual-Purpose Growing Chickens

Abstract

An experiment was conducted with 192 improved dual-purpose chickens from 4 to 12 weeks of age to evaluate the effects of management system (confinement and scavenging) and amino acid supplementation (with and without lysine and methionine) of a low-protein diet on the feed and nutrient intake, performance and carcase quality of improved chickens. Mean daily dry matter (DM), crude protein and metabolizable energy intakes were higher for the confined birds (65 g, 13.3 g and 966 kJ, respectively) than for the scavenging birds (58 g, 12.0 g and 868 kJ, respectively) (p < 0.001) and higher for the unsupplemented (63.3 g, 13.0 g and 945 kJ, respectively) than for the supplemented birds (59.5 g, 12.2 g and 889 kJ, respectively) (p < 0.001). Mean DM intake was 68.0 and 54.9 g/day for the males and females (p < 0.001), respectively. Average daily weight gains (ADG) were higher for scavenging (26.9g) than for confined birds (23.9g) (p < 0.001), higher for supplemented (27.6 g) than for unsupplemented birds (23.2 g) (p < 0.001) and higher for males (27.5 g) than for females (23.3 g) (p < 0.001). Carcase, breast and thigh percentages were higher for supplemented than for unsupplemented birds (p < 0.001) and higher for scavenging than for confined birds (p < 0.001). Abdominal fat percentage was significantly lower for the scavenging treatments compared to the corresponding confined treatments (p < 0.001). Feed conversion ratios (kg feed/kg gain) and feed costs/kg gain were lower for the scavenging than for the confinement treatments, and lower for the supplemented than for the unsupplemented birds (p < 0.001). Supplementation of lysine and methionine in diets that were suboptimal in terms of protein and essential amino acids improved performance and carcase quality and reduced feed costs, in particular of the confined growers.