Five experiments were conducted with Large White poults to determine the effect of
methionine and other
sulfur-containing compounds on the incidence and severity of
dermatitis and on growth and feed efficiency to three or four weeks of age. The poults were housed in battery brooders with wire screen floors in four experiments" and in floor pens with litter in one experiment. Male turkeys were used in four experiments and female turkeys in one experiment. Either a corn-soy diet or a
cornstarch-soy diet was used as the basal diet in the various studies. A high incidence of foot-pad
dermatitis was observed in poults fed the basal diets unsupplemented with
methionine. A high incidence of a
dermatitis on the upper part of the beak was also observed in poults maintained in battery brooders but not in floor pens. Adding
methionine to the diets significantly lowered the incidence and severity of
dermatitis, but
cystine and
potassium sulfate failed to modify
dermatitis. Some foot-pad
dermatitis was still observed in poults fed levels of
methionine more than adequate to meet the requirements for optimum growth and feed efficiency. The incidence and severity of foot-pad
dermatitis generally increased with age during the experiment among poults fed
methionine-supplemented diets. Although
methionine deficiency is a major cause of foot-pad
dermatitis in poults, other environmental or dietary factors also appeared to be involved in the development of the condition. The
methionine requirement for optimum growth, feed efficiency, and prevention of
dermatitis was approximately 0.6% or 2.1 g. per mcal. of metabolizable energy (M.E.). This is higher than the present recommendation of the National Research Council. With corn-soybean meal diets the requirement for total
sulfur amino acids is approximately 1.05% or 3.7 g. per mcal. of M.E.