Glycine equivalents in low-protein poultry feeds

As poultry nutrition shifted toward lower crude protein (CP) diets, amino acid balancing became more critical than ever. While essential amino acids like lysine and methionine get most of the attention, there’s another piece of the puzzle that is emerging as a key player: glycine equivalents.

Glycine equivalents represent the combined contribution of glycine and a portion of serine to the bird’s amino acid needs. Birds can convert serine into glycine, but with reduced efficiency; the reverse is much less effective. That’s why formulation models use a correction factor: