Feeding Barley to Poultry: A Review

Abstract

Barley is utilized to best advantage in poultry diets when consideration is given to the class of bird being fed and the desired level of performance. As with other cereal grains barley must be ground to achieve maximum utilization when used in poultry diets. The β-glucans inherent to most barleys can create problems for young birds and birds raised on litter. The amount of barley in broiler diets can gradually by increased as the birds become adapted to it. When poultry are fed barleybased diets, reduced variability in performance and improved growth can be obtained through the use of enzyme supplementation. Enzyme supplementation is not required in iayer diets that contain barley. However, during peak production periods barley should not be used as the sole grain components. Young turkeys responded to enzyme supplementation of barley diet with improved average daily gains and feed efficiencies.