The Adequacy of Soybean Oil Meal as a Sole Source of Protein for Chick Growth

Abstract

INCREASED weight gains with increasing percentages of protein up to thirty percent were observed by Scott et al. (1957) when chicks were fed purified diets with either (1) casein, (2) isolated soybean protein (Drackett), or (3) a combination of soybean oil meal, casein, and gelatin as sources of protein. This was true even though the diets containing 20 percent protein were shown by calculations to furnish all the essential amino acids at levels equal to or in excess of the requirements established by the National Research Council (1954), with the exception of the combination of proteins which nevertheless gave the greatest growth. The work of Snyder (1955) demonstrated a similar requirement of thirty percent protein for the chick when purified diets containing isolated soybean protein and cerelose were fed. His investigations pointed out the importance of adequate amounts of protein in diets used in studying the response of the chick . . .