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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » National Laboratory for Agriculture and The Environment » Agroecosystems Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #265718
Title: Energy determination of corn co-products fed to broiler chicks from 15 to 24 days of age and use of composition analysis to predict AMEn

Author
item ROCHELL, S - Auburn University
item Kerr, Brian
item DOZIER, III, W - Auburn University

Submitted to: Poultry Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/19/2011
Publication Date: 8/19/2011
Citation: Rochell, S.J., Kerr, B.J., Dozier, III, W.A. 2011. Energy determination of corn co-products fed to broiler chicks from 15 to 24 days of age and use of composition analysis to predict AMEn. Poultry Science. 90:1999-2007.

Interpretive Summary: The expansion of the ethanol biofuel industry has generated a variety of co-products, which due to availability and price, have become available for use as a potential feedstuff for broiler production. Although data has shown that some of these products, namely dried distillers grains with solubles, can be fed at low levels throughout the growing phase in broilers, data is lacking on the variation in energy value of different co-products relative to their composition (fiber, fat, starch, etc.). This research demonstrated that the level of crude fat, ash, and hemicellulose in these co-products would best predict the level of energy available for productive purposes (apparent metabolizable energy corrected for nitrogen) in growing broilers. In the advent that hemicellulose analysis is not available, then neutral detergent fiber, gross energy, and crude protein could be utilized to adequately predict apparent metabolizable energy. This information is important for nutritionists at universities, feed companies, and broiler production facilities for the determination of the energy value of various corn-coproducts for use in feed formulations, and provides a basis from which to assess its economic value.

Technical Abstract: An experiment (3 trials) was conducted to determine the AMEn of 15 corn co-products obtained from various wet and dry milling plants, and to develop prediction equations for AMEn based upon chemical composition. Co-products included: distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS, n = 6), high protein distillers dried grains (HP-DDG, n = 2), corn germ (n = 2), corn germ meal, corn bran with solubles, corn gluten meal, corn gluten feed, and dehulled, degermed corn. Treatments (15) consisted of 85% inclusion of the corn-soybean meal basal diet combined with a 15% inclusion of each corn co-product, as well as a control diet containing dextrose (15%) at the expense of the co-product. In each trial, Ross × Ross 708 chicks (10 birds per pen) were randomly assigned to 16 dietary treatments (12 replicate pens; 4 replicate pens per trial). Following a 7 d diet acclimation period from 15 to 22 d of age, a 48 h total excreta collection was conducted for the determination of AMEn. Co-products were analyzed for gross energy, CP, moisture, crude fat, starch, crude fiber, ash, total dietary fiber, neutral detergent fiber, and acid detergent fiber, with hemicellulose was determined by difference. Stepwise regression resulted in the equation: AMEn, kcal/kg DM = 3,517 + (46.02 × % crude fat, DM basis) – (82.47 × % ash, DM basis) – (33.27 × % hemicellulose, DM basis) (R2 = 0.89; SEM = 191; P = 0.01). Removing hemicellulose from the model resulted in the equation: AMEn, kcal/kg DM = (-30.19 × % neutral detergent fiber, DM basis) + (0.81 × % gross energy, DM basis) – (12.26 × % CP, DM basis) (R2 = 0.87; SEM = 196; P = 0.01). These results indicate that nutrient composition may be used to generate AMEn prediction equations for corn co-products fed to broiler chicks.