True metabolizable energy values of corn and different varieties of wheat and barley using normal and dwarf single comb White Leghorn Roosters

An experiment with four trials was conducted to measure the true metabolizable energy value of corn and different varieties of wheat and barley using normal and dwarf Single Comb White Leghorn (SCWL) roosters. Maxigene, Purple, Red, and Yamhill wheats and corn were assayed for TME using normal sized and dwarf roosters in Trials 1 and 2, respectively. Hannchen, No. 2 Western, Lady Godiva, and Hiproly barleys were assayed using normal sized and dwarf SCWL roosters in Trials 3 and 4, respectively. The pooled results indicated that normal sized roosters gave (P less than .01) significantly higher TME values than dwarf roosters. There was no significant difference in TME found between wheat and barley cultivars, although both types of grain were significantly (P less than .01) lower in TME than the value found for corn. Average dry matter TME values for corn, wheat, and barley were 4.17, 3.70, and 3.54, respectively. A bird x grain interaction was found to be significant (P less than .05).