About the project

Through this project, we have made very interesting discoveries related to the use of the fibre-rich cereals barley and oats in feed for broiler chickens. For the oats, detailed experiments have demonstrated a very large capacity to handle large quantities of this type of grain.

The high proportion of indigestible hulls does not prevent poultry from having a rapid growth and efficient utilization of the feed. This is because broiler chickens have a large reserve capacity to increase feed intake as a result of a reduced nutrient concentration, and that this is much higher than previously thought.

This is not least due to the hulls stimulating effect on gizzard development. Furthermore, we have demonstrated that the chicken handles the large amounts of fiber in the feed by allowing large fiber particles that are normally ground down before passage to pass through without grinding. Even with oats as the only starch source in the feed, the production results were satisfactory.

Detailed comparative studies have shown that an important reason why Gallus gallus has such a high capacity to digest cereals and other seeds despite a very fast passage rate is precisely the good ability to grind the feed into very fine particles that are easily digested in the small intestine. In the experiments with barley, we have demonstrated that it is still the case that the soluble fibres (alpha-1-3, 1-4 beta-glucans) must be removed by adding beta-glucanases to the feed, and we have demonstrated that manipulating the length of stay in the crop through meal feeding can make this degradation more efficient.

In addition, through detailed analyses of Norwegian barley, we have demonstrated that the breeding work on barley has resulted in a reduction in the antinutritive effect of these fibres over the past 20 years. It is therefore possible to use more barley today than there were in the past. Given the high content of fibre in the form of hulls, our experiments have shown that both barley and oats can benefit from being somewhat more finely ground than normal. The gizzard will still be sufficiently stimulated, and the fine grinding has been demonstrated to give a slight increase in performance.

Read more about the project at the Research Council of Norway

Participants

Participants at NMBU

Shlesha Ghimire - PhD student

External participants

Siri Kulberg Sjurseth (Nortura)
Franciska Steinhoff (Felleskjøpet)
Adam Smith (DSM)
Lucas Bassi (PhD student NULS)
Juha Apajalahti (Alimetrics)
Silje Granstad (Veterinary Institute)
Camilla Sekse (Veterinary Institute)
Aaron Cowieson (DSM)
Kari Ljøkjel (Felleskjøpet)
Eva Lena Fjeld Estensmo (Veterinary Institute)