Research note: putrescine effects on performance of male broiler chicks fed low-protein diets supplemented with essential amino acids

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether a polyamine deficiency could account for the reduced performance of broiler chicks fed a low-protein diet supplemented with several synthetic amino acids in comparison with those fed a more conventional CP concentration. Male broiler chicks were fed equicaloric diets calculated to contain 23, 20, or 17% CP. Each diet was supplemented with 0, 0.05, or 0.10% putrescine in a 3 X 3 factorial arrangement of treatments. Body weight gain of chicks fed the 17% CP diet was significantly (P 0.05) less than that of those fed the higher protein diets and feed conversion ratio significantly increased as the CP concentration decreased. Adding putrescine failed to significantly affect any of the parameters within each CP concentration. A deficiency of polyamines does not appear to explain the lower performance of broiler chicks fed low CP diets with added synthetic amino acids