Lysine and Protein Requirements of Bronze Turkeys

ALMQUIST (1952) reviewed the literature on the lysine requirement of poults to four weeks of age and concluded that, based on research from a number of sources, about 5.5 percent of the protein should be lysine. This recommendation seemed to be based on a 24 percent protein diet containing 1.3 percent lysine. However, one reference was quoted in which 1.46 percent lysine in a 28 percent protein diet gave best results with poults to 4 weeks of age. Kratzer, Davis and Marshall (1956) have concluded that the lysine requirement as a percent of the protein is approximately 4.75 percent for poults from hatching to 4 weeks and then decreases to about 4 percent. They indicate that the protein requirement is about 28 percent initially, dropping to 23 percent by 6 weeks of age, 20 percent at 8 weeks, 15 percent at 16 weeks and 13.5 percent at 20 weeks. Ferguson . . .