Methionine, Choline, and Sulfate Supplementation of Practical-Type Diets for Young Turkeys

Abstract Three experiments were conducted using a total of 2,448 poults to study the interrelationships of methionine, choline, and sulfate in practical-type diets. A 6 × 2 × 2 factorial was used involving DL-methionine at increments of .06% from 0 to .30%, choline chloride at 0 and .20%, and potassium sulfate at 0 and .10%. The variables were added to a 21% protein basal diet containing 61% ground yellow corn and 32% dehulled soybean meal but devoid of supplemental choline or sulfate. Each of the 24 diets was fed to four pens of poults in each experiment. Medium-type turkeys between 4 and 8 weeks of age were used in the first experiment and Large White turkeys between 3 and 7 weeks of age in each of the next two experiments. With diets containing 0, .06, .12, .18, .24, and .30% added methionine, body weight gains were 1340, 1457, 1520, 1559, 1538, and 1558 g, respectively, indicating that at least .18% added methionine (.86% total dietary sulfur amino acids) was required in a 21 % protein diet for maximum growth. Average increases in body weight gain, feed consumption, and feed efficiency from the three highest levels of added methionine over the unsupplemented diets were 15.8, 4.8, and 10.6%, respectively. These parameters failed to be affected by adding choline to diets already containing 1250 mg choline/kg. Added sulfate significantly increased average body weight and feed efficiency only in methionine-deficient diets containing 0 and .06% added methionine, and these increases amounted to 2.8 and 3.5% in body weight and to 1.7 and 2.7% in feed efficiency.