Metabolizable Energy of Crop Contents in Free-range Hens


Authors

  • M. Amaka Lomu Pig and Poultry Production Institute, South Australian Research and Development Institute, Roseworthy, South Australia, Australia, 5371
  • P.C. Glatz Pig and Poultry Production Institute, South Australian Research and Development Institute, Roseworthy, South Australia, Australia, 5371
  • Y.J. Ru Pig and Poultry Production Institute, South Australian Research and Development Institute, Roseworthy, South Australia, Australia, 5371

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3923/ijps.2004.728.732

Keywords:

AME, behaviour, crop contents

Abstract

The composition and apparent metabolizable energy (AME) of the feed resources consumed by free-range layers was assessed by analyzing their crop contents. A chemical estimate of the AME of crop contents was 14.3 MJ/kg for hens not supplemented and 15.5 MJ/kg for hens given supplementary compound feed (on a dry matter basis). These values were considerably higher than the AME values estimated on crop contents based on ingredients visually identified in the crop (6.6 MJ/Kg with no supplement and 10.4 MJ/Kg with supplement). Further studies are required to refine the measurement of AME based on crop contents. Behaviour of free-range birds provided supplementary feed was compared to layers retained in an enclosure with no additional feed. Birds with access to the range had more (P<0.05) seeds and insects in their crops and exhibited greater (P<0.05) incidences of running, walking, and wing flapping reflecting greater freedom of movement. In the enclosure, birds engaged in more (P<0.05) scratching and foraging.

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Published

2004-10-15

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 11 (2004)

Section

Research Article

License

Copyright (c) 2004 Asian Network for Scientific Information

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

How to Cite

Lomu, M. A., Glatz, P., & Ru, Y. (2004). Metabolizable Energy of Crop Contents in Free-range Hens. International Journal of Poultry Science, 3(11), 728–732. https://doi.org/10.3923/ijps.2004.728.732

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