SIMPLIFICATION OF HIGH WHEAT DIETS FOR LAYING HENS: VALUE OF SUPPLEMENTATION WITH METHIONINE HYDROXY ANALOGUE

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Abstract
Groups of laying strain pullets were maintained singly in wire cages and fed a diet in which rolled, feed grade, hard red spring wheat was the sole cereal grain and no protein supplement was added. For other groups this diet was supplemented with 5, 10, or 15% soybean meal, or 2% blood meal. A further treatment consisted of replacing 10% wheat with soybean meal and using one-half wheat and one-half corn as the cereal portion of the diet. All of the above diets were fed in the absence of amino acid supplementation and in the presence of methionine hydroxy analogue (MHA). The duration of the experiment was eight periods of 28 days. The results suggested that with a simplified diet based on wheat and soybean meal, between 10 and 15% soybean meal was necessary for optimum reproductive performance. The supplement of MHA improved performance only in diets where total protein or lysine, or both, was/were not first limiting. The simplified diet containing 87.25% wheat, 2% blood meal, and 0.125% MHA supported a rate of egg production of 68%, clearly demonstrating the extent to which wheat might be used with further slight modifications of the diet.

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