Studies on the effect of lysine and methionine supplementation of a high‐protein maize‐soyabean diet and of a low‐protein barley‐white fish meal diet on the performance of caged layers

Abstract

Synopsis Selected literature relating to the amino acid supplementation of layers’ diets is reviewed and the results of two experiments are presented. In the first experiment a basal soyabean meal diet (14.3 per cent crude protein) was supplemented with L‐lysine and DL‐methionine, singly and together. Supplementation of the basal soyabean diet with the amino acids caused no significant effects on egg production, mean and total egg weight or food conversion efficiency. None of the soyabean diets proved as satisfactory for egg production or food conversion efficiency as a fish meal control diet (16.9 per cent crude protein). In the second experiment the effect of adding 0.1 per cent each of L‐lysine and DL‐methionine or 0.2 per cent each of l‐lysine and DL‐methionine to a low fish meal diet (2.5 per cent fish meal) was examined. The addition of 0.2 per cent of each amino acid caused an increase in egg production. Mean egg weight was improved by the addition of amino acids at both levels although this effect...