Nutritional and hematological study of low tannin faba bean cultivars in broiler starter diets

Abstract

Using a complete randomized design, a two part study was conducted to investigate the usefulness of five novel low-tannin-high-vicine faba bean cultivars (FB9, FB10, FB13, FB17, and FB24) in broiler diets. Average protein, fat, fiber, ash, nitrogen-free extract and vicine content on dry-matter (DM) basis in all FB lines was 27.7, 1.4, 7.5, 3.8, 59.6percent, respectively whereas vicine content was 6.7 mg-g. Their apparent and true metabolizable energy (AME and TME), AME and TME corrected for nitrogen equilibrium (AMEn and TMEn) and apparent and true amino acid digestibility coefficients along with those of soybean meal 44percent CP (SBM) were determined using forty nine dubbed mature Hy-Line roosters. Birds were individually placed in metabolic cages, and divided into 7 groups of seven roosters each. Individual birds in each group were precision fed 40 grams of each of the FB cultivars and SBM as a control. Seven roosters were precision fed 40 grams of glucose to correct for the endogenous losses. AMEn and TMEn values of all FB lines were higher than those of SBM 44 (p0.05). Moreover, AMEn and TMEn of FB24 and FB10 were higher (P0.05) than those of FB17; FB9 and FB13 had intermediate values. The apparent Met digestibility coefficients of all FB varieties were comparable but lower than that of SBM (P0.05). Digestible Lys of FB10 was higher than that of FB9 and FB24 whereas FB13, FB17 and SBM had intermediate values. Moreover, the overall average essential amino acid digestibility coefficients of FB10 and SBM were comparable. In a battery brooder feeding trial, 210 Ross 308 week-old male broiler chicks were divided into 30 groups of similar mean body weight with 7 birds per pen. Six isonitrogenous and isocaloric diets: corn-SBM (control) and 5 others containing 30percent of each FB variety were fed each to birds in 5 replicates for 14 days. Due to a possible FB-SBM synergetic effect, birds fed all FB diets had better weight gain, and feed conversion than those of the control (P0.05). Also compared to the control, liver and abdomi