Amino Acids for Ruminates: For calves, the most important amino acids are methionine, lysine, isoleucine, threonine and leucine. A deficiency in any of these amino acids results in a slowing of growth and delayed onset of maturity. The most important of these, methionine, is an essential amino acid. Though used inefficiently from a biological standpoint, methionine is important in cattle and sheep as a methyl group donor and a precursor for cysteine synthesis.
Lysine is the second most limiting amino acid for growing calves, especially in maize-based diets because maize is relatively low in lysine. So, if maize is a major component in a cow’s diet, it may be necessary to consider supplementing the diet.
Amino Acids for Pigs: Pigs have similar needs to calves, with the notable exception being arginine. While arginine is not an essential amino acid since it can be synthesized from glutamate and glutamine, it is essential to younger piglets in the neonatal and immediate post-weaning phases. Forty percent of pigs' arginine requirements must be supplied through their diet, primarily due to their rapid growth rates and the fact that most arginine is used in the urea cycle of the liver.
Amino Acids for Poultry: Growing poultry require similar amino acid balances as other growing animals, but they require arginine in their diets because they do not have a urea cycle and therefore cannot synthesize it on their own. A deficiency of arginine often results in feather deformation in chickens. Lysine deficiencies can negatively affect feather growth in turkeys as well.
Benefits of Amino Acids for Livestock Reproduction
Amino Acids for Ruminates
In ruminants, under-nutrition of amino acids can have a negative effect on fertility, especially during early ovulation. Most prominently, the intake of methionine and lysine have a strong effect throughout the fertility cycle. These two amino acids are particularly important for embryonic development and consuming too little of either nutrient can negatively impact fertility.
In one study, feeding rumen-protected methionine during the peripartum period of a cow's cycle significantly improved postpartum performance. Additionally, studies have found that pregnancies are healthier when cows are fed sufficient amounts of methionine and lysine through the pregnancy, especially on days nine through 19, during which the cow's body determines whether to continue with a pregnancy.
Amino Acids for Pigs
Pigs require a balanced diet that contains plenty of essential and non-essential amino acids. While essential amino acids are important to support a pregnancy, sows also require dietary glutamine and arginine9 to support mucosal integrity and neonatal growth, respectively.
Benefits of Amino Acids In Poultry & Livestock
Better Feed Efficiency
When you raise the protein level in farm animal feed, farm animals will eat more food and digest it more efficiently, in turn increasing the amounts of amino acids and nutrients available to the animal. This also improves feed efficiency, so there is less waste.
Healthy Growth Rate
Appropriate amino acid balances support improved growth rate so that animals will wean and reach mature weight early. Additionally, well-fed calves, piglets and chicks tend to be healthier and larger as adults, producing more and experiencing disease at a lower rate.
Improved Fertility
The most prominent reason for culling cows is reproduction — if a cow doesn't calve, it doesn't produce milk. Conversely, the higher an animal's production potential, the higher the value of the pregnancy. By increasing the amount and the quality of amino acids in feed, especially methionine and lysine.
Increased Production
Regardless of how much a cow is producing, it costs the same to keep it in the herd due to operating costs, fixed overhead costs, maintenance requirements and dry matter. To make the most of that cow, it is important that she produces enough milk to offset any costs of increasing feed quality. By improving the ratio of amino acids in the diet, you can increase cow's milk production cost-effectively and achieve a positive return on investment.
Reduced Incidence of Disease
Higher incidence of disease leads to diminished production and higher maintenance costs, reducing the profitability of your farm. Additionally, a disease can impact the future production potential of a segment of your herd, negatively affecting production in the long-term. By ensuring that your herd's diet is complete with balanced amino acid levels to support the animals’ metabolism and immune response, you can protect the health of your farm animals and minimize costly diseases.
