The relative efficiency of DL-methionine and methionine hydroxy analogue-calcium (MHAC) in the diet of turkey poults.

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the relative efficiency of methionine and methionine hydroxy analogue-calcium (MHAC) in the diet of turkey poults. A corn-soybean diet containing 25% protein and 2583 kilocalories of metabolizable energy per kilogram was utilized. Five experimental diets were fed: basal, 0.04 and 0.08% supplemental DL-methionine and 0.04 and 0.08% supplemental MHAC. In both experiments eight pens of seven poults were fed each experimental diet. This resulted in a total of 16 replicate pens receiving each diet. Body weight and feed efficiency were measured at four weeks of age. The MHAC, on a weight basis, was found to have 82.4 and 82.8% activity of DL-methionine based on body weight and feed efficiency, respectively.