Influence of age and type of feed ingredients on apparent and standardized ileal amino acid digestibility in broiler chickens

Two experiments were conducted to determine the effects of bird age on apparent ileal digestibility (AID) and standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of amino acids (AA) for 10-d-old Experiment (Exp. 1) and 22-d-old (Exp. 2) male broilers. This study investigated the effects of different broiler ages and feed ingredients on AID and SID of AA in corn and soybean meal (SBM). Four hundred and eighty (age = 7 d; initial body weight [BW] = 173.4 ± 12.65 g) and 192 (age = 18 d; initial BW = 772.2 ± 62.13 g) birds were allocated to three dietary treatments in a randomized complete block design with eight replicate cages per treatment. Two diets were formulated based on corn or SBM as the sole source of AA in the diet. A nitrogen-free diet was also formulated to measure basal endogenous losses of AA. Experimental diets were given for 3 and 4 days in Exps. 1 and 2, respectively. An interaction was observed (p < 0.05) between the age of birds and the type of ingredient for the AID of most AA, except for methionine, valine, cysteine (Cys), and tyrosine; however, the effects of age and type of ingredients were diminished in the SID of AA, except for histidine, isoleucine, leucine (Leu), phenylalanine, alanine (Ala), and glutamic acid (Glu). The AID of AA, except for Leu and Cys and the SID of AA, except for Leu, Ala, Glu, and Pro in SBM were greater (p < 0.05) than in corn. As the age of birds increased from 10 to 22 d, digestibility of all AA increased (p < 0.05), regardless of the expression of AA digestibility (i.e., AID and SID). In conclusion, the AID and SID of AA in both corn and SBM increased with increasing age, and the AID and SID of AA in SBM were greater than in corn.