Replacement of barley by oats and enzyme supplementation in diets for laying hens, 1: Performance and balance trial results
1991
Aimonen, E.M.J. | Naesi, M. (Helsingfors Univ. (Finland). Inst. foer Husdjurslaera)
In a balance trial with adult cocks and in a performance trial with laying hens, the influence of six different barley:oats ratios (100:0, 80:20, 60:40, 40:60, 20:80, 0:100), a multi-enzyme pre-mix (Avizyme, Cultor ltd.), and their interaction was tested with respect to apparent nutrient digestibility (ADC) and metabolizable energy (AME), and to laying performance and feed conversion ratio (FCR). With increasing level of ots used in the diet the crude fat content and the ADC of fat increased. At the same time the crude fibre content rose from 6.7% to 9.7% The enzyme supplementation had only minor effects on ADC when the crude fibre content was under 8% (oat levels 0% to 40%). At higher oat levels, it improved the ADC of organic matter, carbohydrates and hemicellulose. The effect of the enzyme on AME at different oat levels was comparable. The mean AME-value of all diets without the enzyme was 11.8 MJ/kg DM and with the enzyme 12.1 MJ/Kg DM. In the performance trial the average laying rate was 84.2+-0.8%, the daily egg output per hen 50.1+-0.4 g and feed intake 114.2+-0.9 g/hen/d during the age between 31 and 55 weeks. None of these traits were affected significantly by the diets. Because the oat diets had less protein and energy the linear effect of the oat level was highly significant in the FCR of protein and significant in that of energy. The enzyme supplementation improved the feed conversion ratio by 3%, which was also statistically significant. The performance trial showed that good quality oats can substitute for barley in the diet of laying hens without any negative effects on laying performance or feed supply.
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