Effect of Feed Form (pellet, mash) on the Rate of Its Digestion and the Speed of Its Passage in the Digestive System of Laying Hens

Abstract

The study was conducted in the digestive unit at the Faculty of Agriculture-Damascus University on seven Babcock B300 hens aged 52-week-old in order to study the effect of feed form (pellet, mash) on the rate of its digestion and the speed of its passage in the gastro-intestinal tract, depending on the speed of passage of insoluble ash in hydrochloric acid, according to the method of Sibbald R.I.1980. Hens were kept individually in cages equipped with feeders, drinkers and a metal tray at the bottom of the cage to collect faeces samples. Hens were fed on one diet formed in two forms (pellet, mash), and faeces samples were collected once every two hours for a period of 24 hours. The experiment was first conducted on the mashed feed, then it was repeated a second time on the pellet feed.

Results showed that feeding laying hens on pellet feed caused a significant (P<0.01) increase in both feed intake and the speed of excretion of insoluble ash in the gastro-intestinal tract (0.022 g/hr) compared to mashed feed (0.010 g/hr), whereas the percentage of dry matter discarded with faeces was significantly (P<0.01) less (19.52%) compared with the mashed feed (23.47%).