Skip to main content
ARS Home » Plains Area » College Station, Texas » Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center » Food and Feed Safety Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #164244

Title: IMPACT OF DIETARY SUPPLEMENTAL METHIONINE SOURCES ON SENSORY MEASUREMENT OF ODOR-RELATED COMPOUNDS IN BROILER EXCRETA

Author
item CHAVEZ, C - TX A&M UNIVERSITY
item COUFAL, C - TX A&M UNIVERSITY
item NIEMEYER, P - TX A&M UNIVERSITY
item CAREY, J - TX A&M UNIVERSITY
item LACEY, R - TX A&M UNIVERSITY
item MILLER, R - TX A&M UNIVERSITY
item Beier, Ross

Submitted to: Poultry Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/12/2004
Publication Date: 10/1/2004
Citation: Chavez, C., Coufal, C.D., Niemeyer, P.L., Carey, J.B., Lacey, R.E., Miller, R.K., Beier, R.C. 2004. Impact of dietary supplemental methionine sources on sensory measurement of odor-related compounds in broiler excreta. Poultry Science. 83:1655-1662.

Interpretive Summary: Feeding methionine to broiler chickens is thought to have an affect on the odor characteristics of broiler excreta. The work described here used five treatment groups consisting of control feed and four different sources of methionine placed in feed. A trained human aroma attribute sensory panel was used to detect differences in odor characteristics of broiler excreta. Each panelist was given warmed manure for sensory analysis. The thirteen odor attributes used to determine differences in the excreta odor by the trained sensory panel were that of ammonia, dirty socks, wet poultry, fermented rotten fruit, hay, musty wet, sharp, sour, urinous, rotten eggs, irritating, pungent, and nauseating. No significant differences were observed in body weights, feed consumption or feed conversion among the treatments. However across the treatment groups, the attributes of ammonia, wet poultry, rotten fruit, musty wet, sharp, and pungent differed significantly. These findings demonstrate that supplemental methionine sources significantly influence odor production in broiler excreta.

Technical Abstract: An experiment was conducted to detect differences in odor characteristics of broiler excreta due to utilization of different supplementary methionine sources by a trained human descriptive aroma attribute sensory panel. The five treatment groups were no supplemental methionine (control group), sodium methioninate aqueous solution, dry methionine hydroxy analogue, liquid methionine hydroxy analogue, and DL-methionine. Two trials were conducted consisting of 5 treatment groups with 3 replications of 13 randomly distributed straight run broiler chicks per pen reared in battery cages. Starter and grower diets were formulated to contain 0.5%, and 0.38% methionine activity, respectively (except control group, 0.35% methionine activity). Excreta were collected for 24 h in litter pans lined with aluminum foil at wk 4, 5, and 6 and analyzed by a trained sensory panel (7 people). Each panelist was given 25 g of manure heated at 27 deg C for 5 min for sensory analysis. The thirteen odor attributes utilized to determine differences in broiler excreta by the trained sensory panel were ammonia, dirty socks, wet poultry, fermented rotten fruit, hay, musty wet, sharp, sour, urinous, rotten eggs, irritating, pungent, and nauseating. Panelist marked intensities for each attribute ranging from 0=none and 15=extremely intense. Each panelist was given 2 replications of each treatment group in a random order each week (total of 10 samples per week). All data were evaluated by analysis of variance using the GLM procedure of SAS software. No significant differences were observed in body weights, feed consumption or feed conversion among the treatments. The attributes of ammonia, wet poultry, rotten fruit, musty wet, sharp, and pungent differed significantly (P<0.05) across treatment groups. These findings demonstrate that supplemental methionine sources significantly influence odor production in broiler excreta.