NUTRITIVE VALUE AND QUALITY OF OAT GROATS FOR BROILER CHICKENS

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Four experiments were carried out to ascertain the nutritive value and quality of oat groats (OG) as a partial replacement for corn and total replacement for wheat in practical diets for broiler chicken using one commercial broiler genotype, Cobb. In each of experiments 1 and 2, 360 day-old chicks of each sex were housed in Petersime batteries and fed starter (1–21 days) and finisher (23–42 days) diets containing 0, 200 and 400 g of Eastern (E) OG or Western (W) OG/kg. In each of experiments 3 and 4, 320 day-old chicks of each sex were housed in eight floor pens and fed starter diets containing 0, 400 and 600 g EOG/kg and finisher diets containing 0, 400, 600 and 800 g EOG/kg. Feeding up to 600 g/kg OG in starter diets and 800 g/kg in finisher diets had no significant adverse effect on biological performance or monetary returns.