Comparison of Sprouted Versus Normal Wheat When Fed to White Leghorn Cockerel Chicks

Abstract

Current U. S. grade standards discount wheat in a lot showing more than two percent sprouting. The grade is lowered with increased sprouting until, at 15 percent, the grain is classified sample grade. Recent data (Murray and Huber, 1968) indicate that the chemical composition of sprouted wheat may not be different from normal grains. In this experiment sprouted wheat was compared to normal wheat using metabolizable energy determinations and gain in body weight of White Leghorn cockerel chicks as the basis of comparison.EXPERIMENTALGaines wheat which contained approximately 60% sprouted kernels was compared to normal wheat. Sprouted wheat was evaluated at 25, 50, 75 and 100 percent replacement of normal wheat in a high-energy starter ration. The composition of the basal diet is shown in Table 1.Two hundred day-old White Leghorn cockerel chicks were housed in a Jamesway Universal battery and fed the control wheat diet for two…