Digestible valine-to-digestible lysine ratios in brown commercial layer diets

Considering that Val may potentially be a limiting amino acid for laying hens, an experiment was carried out to determine the ideal digestible Val-to-Lys ratio in the diets of 42- to 54-wk-old brown layers. Literature reports are divergent, with ratios varying between 86 and 102%, which suggests that further research is needed. Five different digestible Val-to-Lys ratios were evaluated: 84 (0.555% digestible Val), 88, 92, 96, and 100%. Feed intake (g/hen per day), egg production (%), egg weight (g), egg mass (g), FCR (kg/dozen and g/g), egg quality (yolk, eggshell, and albumen %), and egg weight (g) were evaluated. Egg weight, egg internal quality, and weight gain were not influenced by the different dietary digestible Val-to-Lys ratios. The evaluated ratios linearly affected feed intake and had a quadratic effect on egg production, egg mass, and FCR (kg/dozen and g/g). Based on the evaluated parameters, the ideal digestible Val-to-Lys ratio is 92%, corresponding to 0.607% digestible Val or 567 mg/hen per day of digestible Val.