Evaluation of Hull-Less Barley with or without Enzyme Cocktail in the Finisher Diets of Broiler Chickens

An experiment was carried out to study the effect of Hull-Less Barley (HLB) replaced for dietary corn at the rate of zero, 25, 50, 75, and 100% with two levels of Enzyme Cocktail (EC) supplementation (0 and 0.5 g kg-1 of diet) on performance of broiler chickens during the finisher period. Four hundred and fifty male broiler chickens aged 24-days were randomly assigned to 50 pens in a Complete Randomized Design (CRD) experiment, in a 5×2 factorial arrangement, with five replicates of 9 birds each. There were no significant differences in Average Daily Gain (ADG), Average Daily Feed Intake (ADFI), and Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) of birds fed diets with zero, 25, 50, and 75% HLB replacement for corn, whereas the complete replacement of HLB for corn in diet significantly decreased ADG and ADFI and increased FCR. The GastroIntestinal Tract (GIT) organs relative weights and ileal chyme viscosity were significantly increased, and serum lipid metabolites concentrations significantly decreased by the increase in dietary HLB levels. A significantly shorter and thicker villi and thicker muscular layer in jejunum of chickens were observed when diet HLB level increased. The dietary EC supplementation significantly reduced the adverse effects of high dietary level of HLB on performance and GIT characteristics. It is concluded that HLB is a good alternative for broiler finisher diet, if substituted for up to 75% of corn. In addition, supplementation of EC in the finisher diet can decrease the adverse effects of high level of HLB on performance of broiler chickens.