Dietary Supplementation of Alternative Methionine and Choline Sources in the Organic Broiler Production in Brazil

The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of natural and alternative sources of methionine and choline which can be allowed to use in organic livestock systems to feed broilers produced in Brazil. Seven hundred and twenty one-d-old male Cobb broilers were randomly allocated to four treatments with six replicates of 24 birds each. The treatments consisted in substituting the commonly used DL-methionine 99% by a vegetable source of methionine and cholinechloride 60% by alternative source of choline in the form of phosphatidylcholine. The following treatments were evaluated: I) feed with DL-methionine 99% and choline chloride 60%, II) feed with an vegetable methionine source and choline chloride 60%, III) feed with DL-methionine 99% and choline as phosphatidylcholine, and IV) feed with vegetable methionine source and choline as phosphatidylcholine. Daily weight gain, body weight, feed intake, feed conversion ratio, and mortality were evaluated for the periods of 1 to 21 and 1 to 42 days of age. During both periods, broilers fed the vegetable methionine source presented lower daily gain and lower body weight. When only choline chloride was substituted by the alternative choline source, broiler performance was not different compared with that of the control group. The group fed the diet with substitution of both DL-methionine 99% and choline chloride 60% by natural sources presented lower daily weight gain, final body weight, and feed intake. Further research on alternative nutrient sources are required for the development of the organic production chain.