Effect of methionine and lysine supplementation of diets for laying hens, on production and feed intake

Abstract

Six diets containing five levels of methionine and two of lysme were each fed to 12 Leghorn and 12 Australorp pullets for a period of 16 weeks Body weight changes, egg production, egg weight and feed intake were measured Although responses to the diets did not differ significantly In univariate analyses, multrvarrate analysis lndicated a srgnificant interaction between breeds and diets.

Increased methionine produced small, significant Increases In egg weight, although responses were inconsistent at different levels Body weight gains were not significantly different between diets. Egg production and feed consumption were significantly affected by diet?, but the pattern of response was also inconsistent. A discriminate function analysis showed a consistent response to increased methionine, which indicated that the basal diet was deficient and that the pullets required a total of 0 275% methionine in their diet

Lysine supplementation produced a 'significant decrease In feed intake but had no significant effect on any other variable.

A multiple regression equation relating metabolizable energy intake to the variables measured in the experiment was calculated and compared with others reported In the literature This was used to predict the requirements of the pullets for a number of essential amino acids.