Feed and nutrition companies are innovating poultry rations using single amino acids, write Alex Kemp and Ralph Bishop of Premier Nutrition.
Amino acids are often referred to as the building blocks of protein. There are 20 amino acids important in poultry nutrition and these can be divided into two groups, essential and non-essential. Essential amino acids cannot be synthesised by the birds and must be supplied through the bird’s diet whilst non-essential can be produced by the bird.
Historically poultry rations have been formulated to crude protein and then total amino acids. Crude protein is simply a measure of nitrogen in the feed, whether this nitrogen is bound in amino acids or free nitrogen. Total amino acids whilst being more accurate in measuring the levels of each amino acid, still does not account for the availability of these amino acids to the bird. Today we are formulating with far greater precision to the levels of around ten individual amino acids digestibility and the ratio of these amino acids to lysine. Formulating amino acids in ratio to lysine aids in formulating to the principles of ideal amino acid profile or balanced protein concept. This allows a nutritionist to create diets that precisely meet a bird’s nutritional needs given its production requirements, either producing meat or eggs. This information also allows nutritionists to assess the value of raw materials based on their respective amino acid profile and make more accurate decisions in relation to their raw material availability, silo configuration and customer make up.
Lysine and methionine are the first two limiting amino acids in poultry production and are routinely added in single forms to feed formulations. Threonine is also widely available at cost effective prices and plays a significant role in gut health and mucus secretion. In recent years, further single amino acids namely isoleucine, valine and arginine have become widely available at more attractive prices particularly relative to higher global soya prices.
These additional amino acids allow us as nutritionists greater flexibility when formulating poultry diets especially when using alternative protein sources such as sunflower, rapeseed and field beans. They also allow us to be more accurate in our amino acid nutrition, reducing crude protein and nitrogen emissions whilst maintaining performance. However, a thorough understanding of a raw materials nutritional profile and the requirements of modern genetic lines are essential in capturing these benefits at a commercial scale without impacting performance.
A combination of alternative ingredients and additional amino acids offers a powerful strategy when trying to reduce the emissions footprint of poultry products and mitigating potential price premiums attached to deforestation free soya when regulations change next year.
Single amino acids also allow us to drive performance in ways previously challenging. Isoleucine supplementation for example can aid crude protein reduction in poultry rations and therefore reducing nitrogen emissions. Isoleucine is also closely linked to egg mass output in layers and strongly correlated to breast meat yield in broilers.
With current prices many feed businesses are considering the use of maize going forward and this change in raw material base means we must consider the need for tryptophan supplementation, something not usually necessary when wheat and barley are the main cereals. Maize also carries high levels of leucine, another amino acid, excess levels of leucine can interfere with the digestion and absorption of valine and isoleucine, which can limit performance and therefore levels should be considered when formulating maize-based diets.
In summary, the application of further single amino acids in poultry feed is a truly innovative, fast developing and exciting area of poultry nutrition to drive performance, minimise environmental impact and manage the cost of production.