Abstract
It has been asserted that a majority1) or a significant portion2, 3, 4) of crude fiber eaten by chickens is digested in the ceca. More recently, NAKAHIRO et al.5) demonstrated with chicks fed a semi-purified diet containing 12.5% fibrous screenings of Italian ryegrass that the digestibility of crude fiber, cellulose and pentosan was not affected by cecum ligation, and concluded that the cecum does not play an important role in the digestion of crude fiber in chickens.
In order to verify the above-mentioned conclusion, the digestibility of crude fiber, cellulose and pentosan was measured in both cecum ligated and non-ligated chickens fed various kinds of diets.
