Standardized ileal digestible methionine requirements for 22 to 29-d-old male broilers based on the growth performance and feather development

The aim of the present experiment was to determine the standardized ileal digestible (SID) methionine (Met) requirement during the grower phase (22 to 29 days). A total of 192 Ross 308 male broilers (745 +/- 50.5 g) were assigned to six dietary treatments in a randomized complete block design, with eight replicate cages per treatment. The experimental diets were formulated based on corn, soybean meal, and synthetic amino acids (AA), with different levels of dietary SID Met ranging from 0.40% to 0.65%, in increments of 0.05%. Individual body weight and feed intake per cage were measured at the beginning and end of the experimental period. Weight gain (g/bird), feed intake (g/bird), gain-to-feed ratio (g/kg), feather weight (g), and relative feather percentage (% of body weight) were analyzed for linear or quadratic responses using orthogonal polynomial contrasts. Final body weight, weight gain, and feed intake increased quadratically as dietary SID Met concentration increased (p < 0.05). However, the composition of AA in the feathers showed no quadratic or linear effect based on dietary SID Met concentrations, except for Ile (p = 0.05; quadratic). The SID Met requirements for optimum and maximum weight gain of 22 to 29-days-old male broilers were estimated using the broken-line and quadratic-line models to 0.45% and 0.55%, respectively.