Estimating the Metabolizable Energy of Foodstuffs with an Avian Model

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Abstract
A modification is described for the standardization and simplification of present methods of determining metabolizable energy in foodstuffs. The growth of 9-day-old chicks is reduced to 40 to 60% of genetic potential by restricting the intake of a balanced 26% protein diet. A foodstuff(s), added to this diet, refuels the chicks' growth thrust to the limitations of the availability of added calories in the test ingredient. When calculated in terms of a basal reference group, the increased growth is a linear function which permits reading caloric values of a test material directly from a reference curve. Values of several common foodstuffs, determined by this method, agree with published metabolizable energy values.