Abstract:
Background and Objective: The determination of ileal digestibility has become the preferred method for estimating amino acid availability. This study was conducted to determine the apparent ileal digestibility of amino acids in 3 feed ingredients using commercial and indigenous strains of chickens. Materials and Methods: Three experimental diets, representing three feed ingredients wheat, barley and sorghum were formulated and evaluated using six replicates of five birds per cage at 19 days of age. On day 23, after adaptation to the experimental diets, feed troughs were removed from every cage for 1 h and then reintroduced for 2 h. Then, the birds were killed to sample the ileal digesta from Meckel’s diverticulum to the ileal-cecal-colonic injunction. Results: Broiler birds showed significantly (p<0.001) higher digestibility coefficients and digestible amino acid contents for all the cereal grains than local birds. Of the three cereal grains evaluated in this study, sorghum had the lowest amino acid digestibility coefficient and digestible content for the two bird breeds (p<0.001). The digestibility coefficient and digestible amino acid content estimates for wheat were the highest for both breeds (p<0.001). Conclusion: These data suggest that the classes of chickens significantly influenced the apparent ileal digestibility and digestible amino acid content in the feed ingredients assessed in this study.