Dilution of broiler chicken diets with whole hulless barley

SUMMARY An experiment was conducted to determine the effects of diluting broiler diets with increasing levels of whole hulless barley (WHB) on growth performance and nutrient digestibility. A total of 144 one-day-old male broiler chicks were fed the same starter diet with 5% WHB dilution. Grower diets (16 to 24 d) were diluted with 0, 7.5, 15, and 22.5% WHB, and finisher diets (25 to 36 d) were diluted with 0, 15, 30, and 45% WHB, respectively. All diets were supplemented with a commercial dietary enzyme. Birds fed the 22.5 and 45% WHB in grower and finisher diets had lower 36-d BW (P ≤ 0.05) than those fed the other treatments. From 25 to 36 d, birds fed the 30 and 45% WHB diets were less efficient (P ≤ 0.05) than those fed the undiluted diet. The AME value of the 22.5% WHB grower diet was lower (P ≤ 0.05) than those of the other grower diets, and the AME value of the 15% WHB grower diet was significantly higher (P ≤ 0.05) than that of the undiluted diet. All WHB finisher diets had lower (P ≤ 0.05) CP contents than the undiluted diet. The AME values of the finisher diets diluted with WHB were lower (P ≤ 0.05) than that of the undiluted diet. On the basis of these growth performance and digestibility data, optimal growth performance may be achieved by diluting broiler chicken diets with WHB up to a level of 7.5% in the grower period and 15% in the finisher period.