EFFECT OF CAECECTOMY ON TRUE METABOLIZABLE ENERGY AND LYSINE AVAILABILITY IN ROOSTERS

True metabolizable energy, corrected for nitrogen retention (TME(N)) and true lysine availability, was determined for maize and sunflower oilcake meal, two samples of each, and in samples of fishmeal, soyabean oilcake meal and sorghum meal using intact and caecectomized roosters. The roosters were allowed ad libitum intake over a four day feeding period. Caecectomy had no effect on TME(N) values, except in one sample of sunflower oilcake meal and one maize meal sample where lower values were found in caecectomized roosters than in intact roosters. A significantly higher lysine availability was found for intact, as opposed to caecectomized, roosters fed sorghum. No difference existed for any of the other feedstuffs.