1. Ileal endogenous amino acid losses were determined in broiler chickens and in cannulated cross-bred layer strain cockerels using either a nitrogen-free diet, regression analysis or a 48 h fast. 2. Endogenous amino acid flows to the ileum in fasted cockerels were significantly lower than those obtained both by feeding the nitrogen-free diet, and from regression analysis in either broilers or cockerels. Regression analysis gave the highest flows. 3. The apparent digestibility coefficients of amino acids in a diet containing 200 g/kg crude protein were lower in broilers (0.84) than in cockerels (0.88). When corrected, by regression analysis, for the contribution of endogenous amino acids, the true digestibility coefficients became 0.90 and 0.92 respectively.

Guanidinated proteins when fed to non-ruminants provide values for both endogenous amino acid losses and amino acid digestibilities, provided that the homoarginine residues in the treated protein are randomly distributed. Earlier studies have established that guanidination has only minor effects on the structure of the protein and, in particular, on its susceptibility to proteolysis. Furthermore, we have confirmed that homoarginine behaves as a typical amino acid in the small intestine. Lysine residues in casein and soya-bean protein, and in the proteins of cotton-seed meal, meat meal, soya-bean meal, maize, sorghum and wheat were converted to homoarginine by guanidination, the extent of conversion ranging from 37-68 %. Sequential proteolysis in vitvo of these guanidinated materials showed that the ratios of homoarginine to other amino acids remained unchanged for casein and soya-bean protein, indicating random distribution of homoarginine residues, but not for all the amino acids in meals and cereals. The use of guanidinated casein as the sole protein source in diets fed to broiler chickens allowed measurement of endogenous losses of amino acids under normal feeding conditions and calculation of true digestibilities of dietary amino acids at the ileum. Endogenous amino acid losses measured by the use of guanidinated casein (15.3 g/kg dry matter (DM) intake) were significantly higher (P c 0.001) than values obtained by feeding a N-free diet (5.4 g/kg DM intake), or by regression analysis to zero N intake (7.2 g/kg DM intake).Endogenous amino acids: Amino acid digestibility : Homoarginine: Guanidination: Poultry