Sprouted barley as a doable feed complement for laying hens

With feed costs being a major expense for poultry farmers, the worth distinction between feed barley at £148 per tonne and laying hen feed at £310 per tonne has sparked curiosity to search out additional economical choices. One potential decision is the utilization of sprouted barley as a dietary complement for laying hens.

To find this idea, researchers at SRUC’s Allermuir Avian Innovation and Experience Centre, funded by the Scottish authorities, carried out a analysis to research whether or not or not supplementing free-range laying hen feed with sprouted barley might help in the reduction of feed costs. The intention was to search out out whether or not or not these monetary financial savings might presumably be achieved with out affecting egg manufacturing or hen properly being.

Germinated barley

Sprouted barley refers to barley grains which had been germinated by soaking them in water and letting them begin the sprouting course of in a managed environment. The hydroponic course of entails rising the barley with out soil and beneath vibrant lights for 7-8 days until a thick root mat has formed (see Decide).

This technique has been confirmed to supply dietary benefits over unsprouted barley. The following sprouted barley contained 5.7% crude protein, 2.9% crude fibre, and 51% dry matter.

The analysis involved feeding completely completely different portions of sprouted barley to pens of 5 mature hens over a 42-day interval. Each pen was assigned every day sprouted barley intakes of 0g, 15g, 30g, or 45g per hen, with 6 replicates per treatment. Daily data was collected on feed consumption, sprouted barley consumption, and egg manufacturing, whereas hen physique weight and egg prime quality have been measured at days 0, 21, and 42 of the analysis.

The additional the hens ate the a lot much less they required

Key findings from the analysis revealed that the physique weights of the hens remained regular all by way of, regardless of the amount of sprouted barley consumed.

Researchers moreover well-known that the additional sprouted barley the hens ate, the a lot much less feed they required, considerably throughout the latter half of the analysis.

Eggs

Whereas egg weights have been unaffected by the sprouted barley consumption (averaging between 60.8g to 61.5g), the pace of egg laying decreased by 1.4%, 4.7%, and 5.1% as sprouted barley consumption elevated from 0g to 15g, 30g and 45g /hen/day, respectively, as compared with the unsupplemented administration group. These declines have been additional distinguished by way of the latter half of the analysis (days 21 to 42).

Furthermore, SRUC researchers well-known a slight low cost in eggshell energy, nonetheless shell energy remained inside acceptable industrial necessities, with solely 0.3% of eggs exhibiting cracks.

Although the analysis highlighted potential worth monetary financial savings from lowered feed use, the decline in egg manufacturing at elevated sprouted barley intakes raises concerns. Researchers concluded that whereas sprouted barley might alleviate feed costs, the steadiness between feed monetary financial savings and egg manufacturing should be rigorously thought-about to verify it would not offset the financial benefits by farmers. Extra exploration into the optimum stability between sprouted barley supplementation and egg manufacturing is required sooner than this apply is perhaps broadly adopted.