Improving Soybean Meal Use in Broiler Diets

Improving Soybean Meal Use in Broiler Diets Three experiments were conducted to determine the feeding value to broiler chicks of soybean meal (SBM) produced from high-protein (HP), low-oligosaccharide (LO), or conventional (CV) varieties of soybeans. The three SBM contained 54.9, 53.6, and 47.5% CP, respectively. The standardized digestibility (SDD) of amino acids (AA) in the three ingredients was measured using a precision-fed rooster assay with cecectomized Single Comb White Leghorn roosters. Results indicated that the SDD of AA were not different among the three sources of SBM, with the exception that the SDD of lysine in SBM-HP tended to be greater (P = 0.07) than that in SBM-CV. In the second experiment, a precision-fed rooster assay was used to measure the concentration of metabolizable energy corrected for nitrogen (MEn) in each source of SBM. Results indicated that the TMEn in SBM-HP was greater (P < 0.001) than those in SBM-LO and SBM-CV (3,104 vs. 2,984 and 2,963 kcal/kg on a dry matter basis).

A 14-day broiler study was conducted comparing diets formulated based on the digestible AA and TMEn values that were measured in the previous experiments. The three corn-based diets contained 31.21, 32.60 and 38.21% SBM-HP, SCM-LO and SBM-CV, respectively, based on differences in digestible AAs and metabolizable energy levels. Results indicated no differences among the three diets for body weight gain or feed efficiency, which indicated that the reduced inclusion rates of SBM-HP and SBM-LO compared with SBM-CV were not detrimental to broiler chick growth performance. It was concluded that, SBM processed from high protein or low oligosaccharide soybeans are needed in lower concentrations in broiler diets compared to SBM process from conventional soybeans since these SBM have a greater nutritional value than does conventional SBM.

K. M. Baker, P. L. Utterback, C. M. Parsons and H. H. Stein. 2011. Nutritional value of soybean meal produced from conventional, high-protein, or low-oligosaccharide varieties of soybeans and fed to broiler chicks. Poultry Sci. (90):390-395.