Determination of Metabolizable Energy by a Fast Method

A fast method for determination of apparent metabolizable energy (AME) is described in which adult cockerels are trained to eat their diet in a mash form in 1 hr, and excreta are collected every 12 hr over the next 48 hr. The test ingredient is mixed with a balanced diet at a level of 50%. From the AME of the balanced diet and of the 50% mix, the AME of the test ingredient is calculated. The method gives precise values with a low standard error. The AME of a chicken starter diet was 3.13 ± .02 kcal/g.