Nutrient content and digestibility of different batches of wheat distillers dried grains with solubles for laying hens

Dietary high-protein distiller's dried grains with solubles can fully replace soybean meal in diets for meat quails without affecting growth performance

1. The purpose of this study was to determine the metabolisable energy of high-protein distiller's dried grains with solubles (HP-DDGS) for meat quail (Coturnix coturnix coturnix; Experiment I) and evaluate the effects of dietary levels of HP-DDGS on animal performance, carcass characteristics, meat quality, and organ weights (Experiment II).2. In Experiment 1, 96 meat quail were distributed in a completely randomised design with two treatments (reference or test diet) and six replicates of eight birds. The experimental period consisted of 5 d adaptation, followed by 5 d total excreta collection. The experimental diets consisted of a reference (control) and a test diet formulated with 800 g/kg reference diet and 200 g/kg HP-DDGS.3. In Experiment 2, 612 meat quail were distributed in a completely randomised design fed one of six dietary levels of HP-DDGS (0, 85, 170, 255, 340, or 425 g/kg) as a replacement for soybean meal. At 42 d of age, birds were slaughtered and evaluated for carcass yield, organ weights, and meat quality.4. Apparent metabolisable energy values corrected for nitrogen retention of HP-DDGS were 12.5 and 12.3 MJ/kg for males and females, respectively.5. In the starter phase (1-21 d of age), increasing dietary HP-DDGS levels had a quadratic effect on body weight (BW) (P=0.020) and body weight gain (BWG) (P=0.019). The maximum BW and BWG values were estimated to be achieved with 296.0 and 296.2 g/kg dietary HP-DDGS, respectively. Overall (1-42 d of age), increasing dietary HP-DDGS levels in replacement of soybean meal did not affect animal performance, carcass yield, meat quality or organ weight in meat quail.6. It was concluded that dietary HP-DDGS can fully replace soybean meal in meat quail diets without affecting growth performance, carcass yield, meat quality or organ weight.

Variability of amino acid digestibility in different field bean cultivars for broilers

1. The amino acid composition of 10 different UK-grown field bean cultivar samples from the same harvest year were determined.2. Diets included each bean sample at a level of 200 g/kg feed compared against a control diet formulated with only soyabean sources, whereby the beans replaced the soyabean meal, and were used to compare ileal amino acid digestibility. The amino acid digestibility coefficients for the bean samples were obtained via substitution method.3. The data showed that one field bean sample, cultivar Sultan, had a lower amino acid digestibility (P < 0.05) than that of the other nine . This sample had a higher tannin content that may have affected amino acid digestibility.