Evaluation of micronized dehulled barley for pigs and broiler chickens

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the nutritive value of micronized dehulled barley for pigs and poultry. The micronized dehulled barley (MB) was evaluated for ileal and total tract starch and apparent amino acid digestibilities in 12 kg bodyweight cannulated pigs. Micronization of dehulled barley (DB) increased the ileal starch digestibility of the DB by 13%. There were relatively no differences in the apparent ileal and total tract amino acid digestibilities of the pigs fed either the DB or MB diets. Two pig feeding trials were conducted using MB included at different levels compared with either wheat (Trial 1) or corn (Trial 2). Partial replacement (50%) for corn or wheat in starter pig diets with micronized dehulled barley improved average daily feed intakes and feed efficiencies. The inclusion of enzymes to the MB diet improved the feed efficiency by 9.1% (P ;Results indicate that the inclusion of MB in broiler diets decreases the performance of the birds. The addition of enzymes to MB diets for broilers does not appear to increase the availability of the nutrients, and results in poorer performance of the broilers compared with other grain sources. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...