Abstract:
Arginine (Arg) requirements of male broilers (Ross
308) reared at high altitude (2100 m
above sea level) during the 1-to 3-week period was
estimated in a graded supplementation
method, in which six diets (230 g kg
-1
CP and 3200 Kcal ME kg
-1
) with Arg increments of
1.25 g kg
-1
were applied to four pens of fifteen birds each. D
ietary Arg content of the
experimental groups ranged from 10 g kg
-1
(80%
of the NRC recommendation) to 16.25 g
kg
-1
(130%
of the NRC recommendation). Body weight gain, feed
: gain ratio, and plasma
nitric oxide (NO) concentration were determined as
response criteria. Arginine
requirements for maximal body weight gain and optim
al feed: gain during the 21 days
under study were estimated to be 15.3, and 15.1 g k
g
-1
of diet, respectively. The estimated
Arg requirement based on the response in plasma NO
was 15.6 g kg
-1
. In conclusion,
broilers receiving dietary Arg of 15 g kg
-1
had the best performance. Data obtained for
the individual factors are by far the highest value
s reported for Arg requirements.
Keywords:
Amino acids, Chicken, Growth stage, Needs.
