Table 2. Ingredient composition and nutrient concentration of the experimental diets

Item Inclusion levels of palm kernel meal (%)
0 10
Ingredients (%) 100.00 100.00
 Corn 56.35 45.57
 Soybean meal (46% CP) 20.08 17.36
 Corn gluten meal (58% CP) 4.02 4.50
 Palm kernel meal 0.00 10.00
 DDGS 7.00 7.00
 Animal fat 1.00 3.89
 L-Lysine (78%) 0.16 0.24
 DL-Methionine (98%) 0.12 0.14
 L-Threonine (98%) 0.00 0.03
 holine chloride 0.04 0.07
 Tricalcium phosphate 0.86 0.90
 Limestone 9.66 9.59
 Salt 0.25 0.25
 Sodium bicarbonate 0.12 0.12
 Vitamin premix1) 0.12 0.12
 Mineral premix2) 0.12 0.12
 Phytase 0.05 0.05
 Celite3) 0.05 0.05
Calculated energy and nutrient content
 AMEn (kcal/kg) 2,692 2,695
 CP (%) 18.00 18.00
Amino acid (%)
  Lysine 0.82 0.82
  Methionine + cysteine 0.67 0.67
  Methionine 0.40 0.42
  Threonine 0.57 0.57
  Tryptophan 0.16 0.15
 Calcium (%) 4.00 4.00
 Available phosphorus (%) 0.35 0.35
Analyzed energy and nutrient content
 Gross energy (kcal/kg) 3,622 3,742
 CP (%) 18.4 15.7
 Dry matter (%) 90.6 91.7
 Crude ash (%) 11.0 10.9
 Ether extract (%) 4.1 6.9
 Neutral detergent fiber (%) 11.7 16.0
 Acid detergent fiber (%) 4.8 6.5
Feed color (CIE value)
 L* 63.4 54.0
 a* 7.7 6.7
 b* 32.7 27.3
Provided per kg of the complete diet: vitamin A, 10,000 IU (retinyl acetate); vitamin D3, 4,500 IU; vitamin K3, 3.0 mg (menadione dimethpyrimidinol); vitamin B1, 2.50 mg; vitamin B2, 6.50 mg; vitamin B6, 3.20 mg; vitamin B12, 18.0 µg; biotin, 180 µg; folic acid, 1.9 mg; niacin, 60 mg.
Provided per kg of the complete diet: cobalt, 1,200 µg (CoSO4); copper, 19.0 mg (CuSO4); iron, 72 mg (FeSO4); iodine, 1.5 mg (Ca[IO3]2); manganese, 144.0 mg (MnO); selenium, 360 µg (Na2SeO3); zinc, 120 mg (ZnSO4).
0.025% β-xylanase (Econase®XT, declared activity of 4,000,000 unit/g, AB Vista, Marlborough, UK) was supplemented to treatment diets by replacing the same amounts of celite.
CP, crude protein; DDGS, dried distiller’s grains with solubles; AMEn, nitrogen-corrected apparent metabolizable energy.