B. A. Rotter

Effect of enzyme supplementation on the nutritive value of hulless barley in chicken diets

Abstract The effects of enzyme supplementation of barley-based diets on the performance of male growing chicks were studied in three experiments. Study 1 was designed to compare the growth responses of Leghorn and broiler chicks fed on a barley diet supplemented with a crude cellulase preparation. Both strains responded in a similar relative manner over time, as measured by their increased weight gain (11.1%). The apparent energy digestibility data, however, suggest that the broiler chicks were slightly more sensitive to the detrimental effects of unsupplemented barley. In Studies 2 and 3, the degree of growth response of broiler chicks to enzyme supplementation, as influenced by the duration of feeding on enzyme-treated barley diets, was examined. Enzyme supplementation of a diet containing hulless barley improved weight gain (11.2%) and feed efficiency (8.5%) over the entire 6-week feeding period (linear response P P