2007 Volume 44 Issue 2 Pages 168-174
The objective of this study was to determine the effect of differently processed mucuna (Mucuna pruriens var utilis) and kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) on the performance, nutrient utilization and weight of internal organs of broiler chickens. The legumes were processed by three different methods viz. aqueous heating, toasting and dehulling. A total of 315 as hatched day old broiler chicks (Anak strain) were used for the experiment. There were seven dietary treatment groups of 45 birds each and three replicates of 15 birds each. Processed mucuna and kidney bean meals were used to replace 50% protein supplied by soybean meal in the control diet. Data for average daily feed intake (ADFI) revealed no differences for the effect of processing methods. However, average daily gain (ADG) was influenced by dietary treatments (P<0.05). ADG in birds fed either aqueous heated kidney bean (AHKB) or mucuna bean meals (AHMM) was significantly (P<0.05) higher than those fed toasted and dehulled meals. Feed conversion efficiency (FCE) followed the same trend as ADG. Apparent protein digestibility (APD) was affected by different processing techniques. Minimum APD was observed in birds fed either dehulled kidney bean (DKB) or dehulled mucuna meal (DMM). Apparent metabolizable energy corrected for nitrogen (AMEn) was not affected by the dietary treatments (P<0.05). The relative weights of the pancreas were significantly (p<0.05) increased in fed dehulled meal while weights of the liver were significantly (p<0.05) reduced in the same group of birds. The structural alterations were attributed to high concentration of residual trypsin inhibitors in dehulled meals. In conclusion, AHKB and AHMM can be used to replace 50% protein supplied by soybean meal in broiler starter and finisher diets without any adverse effect on the performance and the intestinal organs.
