Abstract
Dehulled faba beans were evaluated as an alternative to soybeans as a protein source for laying hens using 240 individually caged birds, 50 weeks of age. Two basal feeds were formulated to the same nutrient specifications but with one containing no faba beans and the other containing 200 g dehulled faba bean meal/kg. The experiment was divided into two parts: a dilution series, and a choice feeding treatment. The dilution series consisted of increasing concentrations of faba beans, the five levels in the series being 0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 g/kg of food. The sixth treatment was a choice between the two basal feeds. Although food intake increased linearly with faba bean inclusion, reflecting a need by the hens to consume more in an attempt to obtain sufficient of some unidentified limiting nutrient, laying performance was the same on all feeds in the dilution series. Hens consumed the same amount of each basal feed when given a choice between the two, suggesting that no anti-nutritional factors were present in the faba beans used in this trial. It can be concluded, from a nutritional point of view, that dehulled faba bean meal may be used successfully as an alternative to soybeans as a source of amino acids for laying hens as long as the levels of antinutritional factors present are very low, as was the case in this trial, and as long as accurate estimates of the AME and the digestible amino acid contents of the ingredient are used when formulating feeds containing faba beans. If faba beans can be grown and then used locally in areas unsuitable for soybean production, the reduced transport cost could make this an attractive alternative to soybeans. Keywords: Anti-nutritional factors, protein sources, choice feeding
Highlights
As the world population continues to increase, so does the demand for protein. Farrell (1997)predicted that traditional sources of protein for livestock will become increasingly scarce because of the need to feed a progressively larger human population that will compete with an expanding intensive livestock industry that is being forced to exclude animal protein sources in animal feeds
The experiment was divided into two parts: a dilution series, and a choice feeding treatment
Egg production was unaffected by the level of faba bean included in the feed, but food intake increased linearly (Table 3) with faba bean content
Summary
As the world population continues to increase, so does the demand for protein. Farrell (1997)predicted that traditional sources of protein for livestock will become increasingly scarce because of the need to feed a progressively larger human population that will compete with an expanding intensive livestock industry that is being forced to exclude animal protein sources in animal feeds. As the world population continues to increase, so does the demand for protein. A considerable effort has been made to explore the use of plant proteins that can be grown in areas where soybeans are not agronomically successful. Vicia faba is an important crop in those areas of the world where cereal monoculture is practised and soybeans cannot be produced economically (Evans et al, 1972) as it requires a cool season for best development. The total world production of faba beans in 2005 was 6 million metric tons, produced on 3.3 m hectares. The countries producing most of the faba beans in the world are China (1.5 million ha), Ethiopia (0.6 million ha), Australia (0.18 million ha), and Morocco, Egypt and France, the latter together allocating 3.6 million ha for its production The majority of the beans produced are consumed by humans
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