Effect of an unusual source of methionine on the performance of organic chickens

Abstract

The use of amino acids from alternative sources to reduce costs and increase or maintain poultry production levels is crucial to succeed in competitive industry. This study investigated the alternative methionine effects obtained from soybean compared to synthetic DL-methionine-99 % on the broilers performance in the production periods of 1-21 and 1-42 days of age. A total of 720 pullets were included in a completely randomized design with four treatments and six replicates of 30 birds. They received water and food ad libitum throughout the production phase. Diets consisted of T1-reference diet formulated with synthetic methionine (DL-methionine-99 %); T2-diet replacing 100 % of synthetic methionine with alternative methionine; T3-diet replacing 110 % of synthetic methionine with alternative methionine, and T4-diet replacing 120 % of synthetic methionine with alternative methionine. At 1-21 days of age, there was a significant difference (p<0.05) among treatments in daily gain weight (DWG), live weight (LW), and feed intake (FI). However, no differences were observed (p>0.05) in feed conversion (FC) and mortality rates. At 42 days of age, a significant difference (p<0.05) in DWG, LW, and FC parameters was observed among treatments, but there were no differences in FI and mortality. Broilers supplemented with alternative methionine showed significantly lower DWG, LW, FI, productive efficiency index (PEI), and flock uniformity (FU) and showed higher FC compared to animals supplemented with synthetic methionine. The synthetic methionine replacement resulted in lower broiler performance. More researches are necessary to promote better alternative diets for this system.

Organic Maize: Changes in Amino Acid Composition

“…17 (Brasil, 2014), which permitted the use of synthetic amino acids in the Brazilian organic production. The main objective of this permission was to prevent deficiency diseases, in view of the importance of proteins in immune response (Trevisol, 2016) and the lack of natural and efficient sources of amino acids (Demattê et al, 2015). The results of the present study also confirm the need to determine food composition before diet formulation, since using preestablished food compositions probably leads to differences between what was formulated and what was actually given to poultry.…”

Assessing smallholder farmers’ perception of value creation and appropriation in sustainable production

“…The present study illustrates the case of Brazilian smallholder farmers that are suppliers of broilers reared in certified sustainable farming systems guided by the values of Mokichi Okada (Japan, 1882(Japan, -1955. This group of farmers are part of a vertical integration system characterised by: 1 not using antibiotics and growth promoters 2 not using genetically modified ingredients and animal by-products in feed 3 ensuring greater animal welfare 4 improving the environmental standards in the farms as a means to achieve better animal health and ensure compliance with environmental regulations (Demattê Filho et al, 2015).…”