Influence of excessive lysine and/or methionine supplementation on growth performance and carcass traits in broiler chicks

For optimum health and performance, the animal’s diet must contain adequate quantities of all nutrients required, including amino acids. The limiting amino acid is that presents the greatest deficiency relative to its requirement. A shortage of the limiting amino acid will constrain animal growth and reduce feed efficiency [10]. Moreover, there is evidence suggesting that a severe amino acid imbalance has a primary effect on feed consumption which, in turn, can affect growth rate and carcass composition [21, 25]. Amino acid excesses can also result in impaired growth performance [5-7, 12]. Methionine (Met) is considered to be the first limiting amino SUMMARY