EFFECT OF AGE ON FEATHER AMINO-ACID CONTENT IN 2 BROILER STRAIN CROSSES AND SEXES

A description of the feather amino acid content from two distinct broi ler strain crosses may provide needed information for nutritional purp oses. Both sexes of the Ross x Arbor Acre and Steggle x Arbor Acre str ain crosses were reared on corn-soybean meal-based diets exceeding the minimum NRC (1984) nutrient recommendations, with pooled feather samp les taken from selected birds for amino acid analyses at different age s. Broiler age played a greater role than strain cross or sex in influ encing individual and total essential amino acid contents. Total non-e ssential amino acids as a percentage of total essential amino acids in creased as the bird aged, indicating feather compositional changes occ urring during this time.