Evaluation of triticale given to pigs, poultry and rats

Abstract

Triticale has been evaluated nutritionally and compared with wheat and rye by determining digestibility of nitrogen (TD), biological value (BV) and content of metabolizable energy (ME) in experiments with rats and piglets (BV and ME) and laying hens (ME). The effects of three triticale cultivars on feed intake and growth of broiler chickens were investigated in a pilot study. Amino acid (AA) analyses of 12 triticale batches (5 cultivars) revealed negative correlations for most AA between the content in g per 16 g N and the CP (crude protein) content of the triticales, these being particularly pronounced for lysine (lys = 5.07 - 0.91 X), which was reflected in decreasing BV values with increasing CP content. However, there were also differences between triticale cultivars in lysine content when compared at the same CP content. The BV for triticale was on average intermediate to wheat and rye, whereas TD was of the same magnitude as for wheat and higher than for rye: net protein utilization was therefore, close to that of rye. The ME content for pigs of triticale (cv. Lasko), rye and wheat was on average 15.0, 14.9 and 15.1 MJ kg −1 DM, respectively. For laying hens, the ME content of 4 triticale cultivars varied between 14.1 and 14.8 MJ kg −1 DM. Triticale given to broiler chickens as the sole cereal markedly impaired weight gain in comparison with wheat, by depressing feed intake to 75–90% of that of wheat. Differences between triticale cultivars for feed intake seemed to be associated with the content of water-soluble pentosans. It is concluded that the use of triticale in diets for pigs and poultry seems to be promising, but further research is needed to predict the nutritive properties of different cultivars.