Individual variation in the content of free amino acids observed in the blood and muscle of chicks fed a single meal daily

Abstract

1. Fifty broiler chicks in individual cages, were fed on a balanced diet ad libitum until 10 d old and then given a single meal daily. Blood and pectoral muscle samples were taken from each. Free aspartic acid, threonine, serine, glutamic acid, glycine, alanine, valine, cystine, isoleucine, leucine, phenylalanine, lysine and arginine were determined. 2. Free amino acid concentrations varied greatly between birds. Values for the coefficient of variation ranged from 0.21 for serine in both tissues to 0.571 and 0.749 for valine and lysine in blood and muscle respectively. 3. Many correlations for pairs of amino acids did not seem related to the body weight of chicks.