Apparent ileal apparent digestibility (AID) for crude protein and amino acids in five protein feedstuffs were determined using 5-week-old male broiler chickens.  The feed ingredients evaluated in this study were: corn distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS), raw full-fat soybean (RFFSB), extruded full fat soybean (EFFSB), soybean meal (SBM), and rapeseed meal (RSM).  This study has special interest in that five protein feed ingredients were directly compared and statistically analyzed in one experiment.

Results of this research is recorded in the following table.  AID of crude protein was the highest for SBM (0.73) and lowest (P < 0.05) for RFFSB (0.45).  No differences in AID for crude protein were observed for RSM (0.61) and DDGS (0.62).  The AID values for all essential amino acids except Lysine (0.52) were the lowest in RFFSB (P < 0.05).  The AID of for all essential amino acids was the highest in SBM (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between EFFSB and SBM in AID for most essential amino acids.   The AID of crude protein and amino acids were high for EFFSB and SBM compared to the other protein ingredients.  (This is another study that demonstrates the comparative nutritive value of SBM when compared to other feed protein ingredients.  Poultry producers can rely on SBM to provide a reliable and consistent source of digestible protein and amino acids that support optimum bird performance).