Abstract:
Three hundred and thirty-six day-old male Cobb-500 broiler chickens were randomly allotted to seven dietary treatment groups. Twelve chicks were slaughtered on day 1 to obtain baseline data. There were six replicates of each treatment and eight chicks per replicate. The study reports on the assessment of performance and energy utilization of broiler chicks on diets based on five cultivars of triticale (Bogong, Canobolas, Jackie, Tobruk and Endeavour) compared with maize and wheat, with no supplemental microbial enzymes over a 22-day experimental period. The results showed that diets based on Bogong and maize were superior to the other diets. Birds on all the triticale diets except Canobolas achieved better growth than birds on the wheat-based diet. Birds in the Bogong, Jackie and Tobruk diet groups had higher energy, fat and protein intake; net energy for production (NEp) and energy, fat and protein retention.
