• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.14 no.8
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• pp.1106-1109
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• 2001

This experiment was conducted with 30 adult wool producing Angora rabbits of either sex, to evaluate the effect of replacing soyflakes (SF), on equal protein basis, with low gossypol containing cottonseed meal (CSM) either alone or in combination with lysine and methionine; on the biological performance, total wool yield, wool yield per shearing, wool characteristics and mortality. Three experimental mash diets were prepared by incorporating SF (6%) as standard / control protein source $(T_1)$ and CSM (9%) as test protein source ($T_2$ and $T_3$). In $T_3$, amino acids-lysine and methionine (0.1 % each) were added. Animals were given the experimental diets about $150g{\cdot}day^{-1}{\cdot}head^{-1}$, for a period of 225 d or three shearing, and ad libitum Kudzu-vines. No significant effect of $T_2$ or $T_3$, on the body weight gain, total wool yield, wool yield per shearing and wool characteristics, was observed compared to $T_1$. However, the digestibility of dry matter, crude fibers, ether extract, acid detergent fibers, neutral detergent fibers, cellulose and hemicellulose was significantly (p<0.05) depressed in CSM based diets. Mortality of about 20% was recorded in $T_2$ and $T_3$, but not related to the addition of CSM or gossypol toxicity. More studies are needed to standardize the safe level of CSM, duration of safe feeding of CSM, and level of amino acids supplementation in CSM based diets.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.619-628
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• 2023

Objective: This study aimed to determine and compare the apparent ileal digestibility (AID) and the standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of amino acids (AA) in soybean meal (SBM), cottonseed meal (CSM), and low-gossypol cottonseed meal (LCSM) fed to broiler chickens and laying hens. Methods: Three semi-purified diets containing the identical crude protein concentration at 20% were formulated to contain SBM, CSM, or LCSM as the sole source of N. A N-free diet was also formulated to estimate the basal ileal endogenous losses of AA for broilers and hens. A total of 300 male Ross 308 chicks at one-day-old and 144 Hy-Line Brown laying hens at 30-week-old with initial egg production rate of 88.3%±1.0% were randomly allocated into 1 of 4 dietary treatments, respectively. Results: CSM and LCSM showed more Arg and Cys+Met while less Lys, Ile, Leu, and Thr relative to SBM. Significant interactions existed between species and experimental diets for AID (except for Arg, Asp, Glu, Gly, and Pro) and SID (except for Arg, His, and Phe) of most AA. Most AA in diets showed higher AID (except for Lys) and SID (except for Lys, Met, and Ser) in broilers relative to laying hens. The AID and SID of all AA were significantly different between the three diets. In broilers, the AID and SID of most indispensable AA except for Arg in SBM and LCSM was higher than CSM. In laying hens, the AID and SID of most indispensable AA except for Arg, Met+Cys, and Phe in SBM was higher than CSM and LCSM. Conclusion: The accurate determination of AID and SID of AA in CSM and LCSM for broilers and layers benefits the application of CSM and LCSM in chicken diets. The cottonseed by-products CSM or LCSM showed the species-specific AA digestibility values for broilers and layers.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.400-409
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• 2017

Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary protein sources (soybean meal, SBM; low-gossypol cottonseed meal, LCSM; double-zero rapeseed meal, DRM) on laying performance, egg quality, and plasma parameters of laying hens. Methods: A total of 432 32-wk-old laying hens were randomly divided into 6 treatments with 6 replicates of 12 birds each. The birds were fed diets containing SBM, $LCSM_{100}$, or $DRM_{100}$ individually or in combination with an equal amount of crude protein (CP) ($LCSM_{50}$, $DRM_{50}$, and $LCSM_{50}-DRM_{50}$). The experimental diets, which were isocaloric (metabolizable energy, 11.11 MJ/kg) and isonitrogenous (CP, 16.5%), had similar digestible amino acid profile. The feeding trial lasted 12 weeks. Results: The daily egg mass was decreased in the $LCSM_{100}$ and $LCSM_{50}-DRM_{50}$ groups (p<0.05) in weeks 41 to 44. The $LCSM_{50}$ group did not affect egg production compared to the SBM group in weeks 41 to 44 (p>0.05) and showed increased yolk color at the end of the trial (p<0.05). Compared to the SBM group, the $LCSM_{100}$ and $LCSM_{50}-DRM_{50}$ groups showed decreased albumen weight (p<0.05), CP weight in the albumen (p<0.05) and CP weight in the whole egg (p<0.05) at 44 weeks. Plasma total protein (TP) levels were lower in the $LCSM_{100}$ group than in the SBM group at 44 weeks (p<0.05); however, TP, albumin, and globulin levels were not significantly different between the $LCSM_{50}$ group and the SBM group or between the $DRM_{50}$ group and the SBM group (p>0.05). Conclusion: Together, our results suggest that the $LCSM_{100}$ or $DRM_{100}$ diets may produce the adverse effects on laying performance and egg quality after feeding for 8 more weeks. The 100.0 g/kg LCSM diet or the 148.7 g/kg DRM diet has no adverse effects on laying performance and egg quality.