Several strategies are being developed to minimize nitrogen (N) pollution form poultry waste in areas with high concentrations of commercial poultry operations. This study looks at the effect of using reduced protein (CP) diets for broilers and layers housed under commercial conditions. Each of two broiler experiments involved 2400 birds; a layer experiment involved 1350 birds. The diets were based on practical ingredients, supplemented with commercially available lysine, methionine, tryptophan, and threonine. Results indicated that similar boiler and layer performance could be maintained on reduced-CP diets as on conventional diets, although body fat content increased in broilers. The reduction in dietary CP content resulted in a 10-27% reduction in the total amount of N excreted during the 6-wk broiler rearing period. With layers, there was a 30-35% reduction in daily N output. Reduction in dietary CP level was associated with an improvement in DM (dry matter) and N retention. Accurate information on the AA composition of the dietary constituents is necessary, as is the addition of supplements of the limiting AA. Successful reduction in dietary CP content is likely to have marked beneficial effects in terms of reducing the N output in waste from poultry operations.
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