The combined effects of dietary lysine and total sulfur amino acid level on egg production parameters and egg components in Dekalb Delta laying hens. Poultry Science 83

ABSTRACT Dekalb Delta hens were randomly as-signed to one of eight dietary treatment groups. Two intakes of lysine (860 and 959 mg/hen per day) and 4 intakes of TSAA (635, 689, 811, 877mg/hen per day) were combined in a 2 × 4 factorial treatment arrangement and fed from 20 to 43 wks of age. A phase feeding regimen was implemented at 43 wk with lysine intake lowered to 715 or 816 mg/hen per day and TSAA to 578, 607, 699, or 779 mg/hen per day. Cage was the experimental unit (5 hens/cage), and dietary treatments were replicated 8 times. Egg production (EP) and feed consumption were not affected by dietary treatments. Feed efficiency im-proved linearly by increasing TSAA intake during phase I only. Hen weight gain was improved (P ≤ 0.03) by increased dietary lysine (94.2 vs. 135.2 g weight gain/ hen). During phase I, hen weight gain was affected qua-dratically (P ≤ 0.02) by TSAA. Increasing TSAA intake up to 689 mg/hen per day increased hen weight gain, but gain decreased at the highest intake. Egg weight