Heat processing of barley and enzyme supplementation of diets for broilers

The influence of heat processing (HP) of barley and enzyme supplementation (ES) of the diet on digestive and performance traits of broilers to 21 d was studied. There were four treatments arranged factorially with two barley-processing treatments (raw or heated), two levels of ES (0 or 500 ppm), and five replicates per treatment. Chicks fed HP barley grew faster than broilers fed raw barley until 8 d of age, but the effect disappeared thereafter. In general, ES improved broiler performance at all ages. Intestinal viscosity was increased by HP of barley (P < or = 0.05) and reduced by ES (P < or = 0.001), and the decrease in viscosity caused by ES was greater for HP than for raw barley diets (HP x ES; P < or = 0.05). Heat processing of barley and ES of the diet improved apparent retention of nutrients (P < or = 0.001). Age affected apparent retention of nutrients differently. For starch and neutral detergent fiber, retention increased linearly with age (P < or = 0.01), but for the remaining nutrients the retention decreased from d 4 to 8 and then increased until d 21 (P < or = 0.001). Also, the beneficial effects of HP on retention of nutrients were more pronounced at younger ages (HP x age; P < or = 0.05). Both HP (P < or = 0.001) and ES (P < or = 0.01) increased liver weight, and enzymes reduced the weights of pancreas (P < or = 0.05) and small intestine (P < or = 0.001). Villus height was improved by HP (P < or = 0.001) and ES (P < or = 0.01), but villus surface area was only improved by enzymes (P < or = 0.01). It was concluded that broiler performance is improved by HP of barley at early ages and by ES of the diet throughout the trial. Also, HP and ES increased apparent retention of nutrients, AMEn of the diet, and villus height.