ABSTRACT. The objective of this research study was to evaluate the effect of age on the apparent ileal digestibility coefficient of nutrients, gross energy and digestible energy of corn germ meal for broilers. Four digestibility trials were conducted using 280 broilers (Cobb 500) distributed in a completely randomized design with two treatments and five replications, repeated at four ages (10, 20, 30 and 40 days). The number of birds used in the tests was 10, 8, 6 and 4 birds per experimental unit at the different ages. The results were analyzed considering as dependent variable the apparent ileal digestibility of dry matter, crude protein, ether extract and gross energy, digestible dry matter, digestible crude protein, lipid and digestible energy; and ages (10, 20, 30 and 40 days) as the independent variable. The results for the variables showed that bird age exerted influence only in the ileal digestibility of dry matter and gross energy. The digestible energy of corn germ meal increased by about 13 kcal kg -1 day -1 up to the evaluated age (40 days).Keywords: corn coproducts, digestible energy, fat, ileum, partial collection.Efeito da idade de frangos de corte sobre a digestibilidade ileal do gérmen integral de milho RESUMO. Objetivou-se com esta pesquisa avaliar o efeito da idade sobre os coeficientes de digestibilidade ileal aparente dos nutrientes, da energia bruta e os valores de energia digestível do gérmen integral de milho para frangos de corte. Quatro ensaios de digestibilidade foram realizados com 280 aves de corte (Cobb 500) distribuídas em um delineamento experimental inteiramente casualizado, com quatro tratamentos e cinco repetições. Os tratamentos avaliados consistiram das diferentes idades das aves: 10, 20, 30 e 40 dias. A quantidade de aves utilizadas nos ensaios foram: dez, oito, seis e quatro em cada unidade experimental, nas diferentes idades avaliadas, respectivamente. Os resultados foram analisados considerando-se como variável dependente a digestibilidade ileal aparente da matéria seca, da proteína bruta, do extrato etéreo e da energia bruta, matéria seca digestível, proteína bruta digestível, extrato etéreo digestível e energia digestível e como variável independente as idades (10, 20, 30 e 40 dias). Os resultados obtidos para as variáveis analisadas revelaram que a idade da ave exerceu influência apenas nos coeficientes de digestibilidade ileal da matéria seca e da energia bruta. A energia digestível do gérmen integral de milho aumentou cerca de 13 kcal kg -1 dia -1 até a idade avaliada (40 dias).

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Poultry maintenance requirements for valine, isoleucine, and tryptophan were measured by nitrogen balance using different unit systems. The nitrogen balance trial lasted 5 d with 48 h of fasting (with roosters receiving only water+sucrose) and the last 72 h for feeding and excreta collection. Forty grams of each diet first-limiting in valine, isoleucine, or tryptophan was fed by tube each day (3 d) to give a range of intakes from 0 to 101, 0 to 119, and 0 to 34 mg/kg BW d of valine, isoleucine, and tryptophan, respectively. A nitrogen-free diet containing energy, vitamins, and minerals, meeting the rooster requirements, was offered ad libitum during these three d. To confirm that the amino acids studied were limiting, a treatment was added with a control diet formulated by adding 0.24 g/kg of L-valine, 0.21 g/kg of L-isoleucine, and 0.10 g/kg of L-tryptophan to the diets with lower amino acid level. Excreta were collected during the last 3 d of the balance period and the nitrogen content of the excreta was analyzed. For each amino acid, a linear regression between nitrogen retention (NR) and amino acid intake was performed. The equations from linear regression were: NR=-98.6 (±10.1)+2.4 (±0.2)×Val, NR=-46.9 (±7.1)+2.3 (±0.1)×Ile, NR=-39.5 (±7.7)+7.3 (±0.4)×Trp; where Val, Ile, and Trp are the intakes of valine, isoleucine, and tryptophan in mg/kg body weight per d, respectively. The valine, isoleucine, and tryptophan required to maintain the body at zero NR were calculated to be 41, 20, and 5 mg/kg body weight per d, respectively. For the system unit mg per kg of metabolic weight, the intake of valine, isoleucine, and tryptophan was 59, 32, and 9, respectively. Considering the degree of maturity of the animal and body protein content (BPm (0.73)×u), the amounts of valine, isoleucine, and tryptophan required for maintenance were calculated to be 247, 134, and 37 mg per unit of maintenance protein (BPm (0.73)×u) per d. Maintenance requirement is more adequately expressed as body protein content.

Palavras-chave: energia metabolizável aparente, energia metabolizável verdadeira, equação de predição, frangos de corte

Three experiments were conducted with broiler chickens to evaluate the effects of digestible total sulphur amino acid (TSAA) on their performance at three different phases of starter (1-14 d), grower (15-28 d) and finisher (29-42 d). The measured traits included: average daily gain (ADG), feed intake, feed conversion ratio (FCR), carcass protein, body lipid (BL), feather weight gain, carcass plus feather protein, carcass TSAA deposition and nitrogen excretion (NE). A dilution technique was used to create seven diets (with eight replicates) increasing the TSAA content from 2.5 to 9.04 g/kg of diet for starter, 2.26 to 8.14 g/kg of diet for grower and 2.08 to 7.5 g/kg of diet for finisher. Data measured were imported to neural networks to predict the measured traits in response to dietary and intake levels of TSAA and find the optimal levels of TSAA that lead to the desired responses. Optimization results showed decreases in optimal dietary TSAA values with increasing age for all traits, while reverse was observed for intake values and requirements were increased as birds aged. The highest TSAA requirement (7.95, 7.2 and 6.6 g/kg and 283, 585 and 1150 mg/bird per d for starter, grower and finisher, respectively) were achieved for minimum BL and lowest (5.8, 5.2 and 4.9 g/kg and 201, 444 and 873 mg/bird per d for starter, grower and finisher, respectively) were suggested for minimum NE. Based on intake models, the optimal TSAA values for minimum FCR in phases 1-3 were 283, 585 and 1150 mg/bird per d while maximum ADGs were achieved with 201, 444 and 873 mg/bird per d of TSAA.

The rate of passage (ROP) in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) influences the exposure time of food to the digestion and absorption processes. Consequently, ROP affects the efficiency of nutrient utilization and energy from the diet. This study aimed to determine the physiological parameters that characterize the digestive response, such as first appearance time (FAT), ROP, mean retention time (MRT) and transit time (TT) in adult Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica), and to evaluate the effects of sex, apparent metabolizable energy corrected for nitrogen balance (AME n ) content in the diet and different types of markers on these parameters. In the first trial, we investigated the effects of sex and AMEn level (high- and low-energy diet) on the FAT parameter. Thirty-two male and 32 female Japanese quail were randomly allocated to 8 battery cages and assigned to 4 treatments in a 2 × 2 factorial design with 4 replicates of 4 birds for each treatment. To determine the FAT, ferric oxide (1%) was added to the diet, and the excreta of the quail was monitored until the first appearance of the marker. The results indicated significant differences (P < 0.05) in the FAT between males (100 min) and females (56 min), regardless of the AMEn content. In the second trial, thirty-two 32-week-old female Japanese quail in the laying phase were assigned to four treatments in a 2 × 2 factorial design, in which the main independent variables were type of marker (Cr or Ti) and AMEn level (high- and low-energy diets). In order to determine ROP (ET1%), MRT and TT (ET100%), the markers (0.5%: Cr2O3 and 0.5%: TiO2) were added to the diets, and the excreta were collected for 750 min. The excretion times for 1% (ET 1% ), 25% (ET 25% ), 50% (ET 50% ), 75% (ET 75% ) and 100% (ET 100% ) were estimated using cumulative excretion curves. No effect was detected for the AMEn level (P > 0.05); however, the effect of different marker types was significant (P < 0.05). This difference increased with time and ET100% was estimated to occur at 59 min. The ROP was estimated to be 68 min. The TT was estimated to be 540 min using Cr and 599 min using Ti, with an average MRT value of 0930 h. Taken together, our findings support the hypothesis that Japanese quail digestion through the GIT can be dynamic and differ based on sex or marker type.

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