Chemical composition and nutritional value of different wheat cultivars for broiler chickens

The experiment was carried out on 90 Ross 308 broiler chickens (9 groups of 10 birds each) kept in individual cages. Nine diets based on Polish wheat (Triticum aestivum) cultivars: Zebra, Bryza, Vinjett, Torka, Rysa, Mikula, Turnia, Satyna and Bombona were prepared. The diets contained 732.6 g/kg wheat grain, soyabean meal, fish meal, lysine, methionine, vitamins and minerals. Broilers were provided experimental diets ad libitum from 14 to 42 days of age. Performance was measured, and on the last week of the experiment a marker was added to the diets, excreta were collected, analysed, and nutrient digestibility and metabolizable energy value were calculated. After completion of the experiment, jejunal digesta pH and viscosity were measured. Jejunal digesta viscosity was higher in birds fed diets with Bryza and Satyna cvs. than with the remaining cultivars, while apparent protein digestibility was 67.9% in birds fed diets with Rysa and Bombona cvs., and 84.6 on average, in birds fed diets with Zebra, Torka, Mikula, Turnia and Satyna cvs. Wheat cultivar neither influenced the AMEN value of diets, which averaged 12.5 MJ/kg, nor body weight gain, while the feed conversion ratio was 6% better, on average, in birds fed diets with cultivars of lower viscosity (Zebra, Vinjett, Torka and Turnia) in comparison with diets based on the remaining cultivars (P<0.05).