Effcet of Amino Acids Supplemented to Low Protein Corn-Soya Diet on Egg Production of Laying Hens

Using the White Leghorn hens of 205, 270 and 305 days of age respectively, three experiments were carried out to study the influence on egg performence of laying hens of various amounts of amino acids supplemented to the negative control corn-soya diet containing 11% of crude proteins. In each experiment, 50 hens were randomly assigned to five diet groups. Except for methionine which was of DL-form, all of the amino acids used were of L-form and had more than 98% purity. A corn-soya diet containing 16% of crude proteins served as positive control.In all experiments, the negative control diet administered singly was found to be unsatisfactory in maintaining a high rate of egg production. On the other hand, a diet to which the essential amino acids were supplemented (15% N equivalents) at the level twice as much as the N.R.C. or Johnson and Fisher Standard was as effective as the positive control diet. A diet to which the essential amino acids were supplemented (12.7% N equivalents) at the level 1.5 times as much as the Standard also worked fairly well, although egg production on this diet was 5% lower than that on the positive control diet. Even the addition of certain kinds of non-essential amino acids, such as glutamic acid and asparatic acid, proline and serine as well as essential methionine and lysine, to this diet (15% N equivalents) failed to improve the egg production rate. However, a diet containing six non-essential amino acids in the same ratio to the positive control diet was found to be as effective as the positive control diet.It is concluded that not only the balance of the essential amino acids but that of the non-essential amino acids in diet are important for the maintenance of high rate of egg production of laying hens.