THE NUTRITIVE VALUE OF WHEAT SCREENINGS AS A FEED INGREDIENT FOR ADULT LEGHORN HENS

Abstract

Nine hundred and twenty Leghorn hens were used in two experiments designed to evaluate the effects of feeding adult diets containing ground wheat screenings at 0, 15, 30, 45 and 60% of diets which were calculated to be isoenergic and isonitrogeneous. Results from both experiments reveal that there were no significant (P > 0.05) dietary effects for mortality, egg production, egg specific gravity, egg Haugh units or body weights. The higher dietary levels of wheat screenings were associated with a significant (P < 0.05) linear depression in feed efficiency. In exp. 2 hens fed the diet with 60% wheat screenings were significantly delayed in reaching a 50% rate of egg production and laid eggs which, at 182 d of age, weighed significantly less than eggs laid by hens fed diets with lower levels of wheat screenings; but as these results did not occur in exp. 1 these effects on sexual maturity and egg weight are inconclusive. It can be stated that layer diets may contain up to 45% wheat screenings without the expectation of a depression in biological performance. Key words: Wheat screenings, diets, Leghorn hens