Studies on the Amino Acid and Soybean Protein Requirements of White Leghorn Hens Fed Diets Composed Principally of Corn

IT WAS recently reported by Waibel and Johnson (1961) that White Leghorn hens receiving only 9% protein in a diet containing 92.5% corn and 2.5% soybean oil meal laid eggs at the rate of 42.3% during a 40 week period. It was possible to correct only partially the protein deficiency of a similar diet containing 10% protein with supplementary methionine, lysine, tryptophan, and valine. Since corn was nearly the sole source of protein in these diets, it appeared desirable to determine the amino acid requirements of hens fed a diet containing corn as the only protein-bearing ingredient. The development of such a diet would be useful in a variety of studies involving nutrient requirements and inter-relationships. Using a basal diet containing 80% corn and 14.5% dextrose monohydrate (as a convenient ingredient for substitution purposes), the objective of this study was to achieve satisfactory egg production and body weight maintenance with …