Journal
JOURNAL OF APPLIED POULTRY RESEARCH
Volume 14, Issue 1, Pages 38-46Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1093/japr/14.1.38
Keywords
insoluble fiber; gizzard; digestion; layer
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Effect of access to wood shavings on gizzard activity was examined for birds fed pelleted wheat and oat diets with or without whole cereal inclusion. Layers on litter floor fed wheat diets with access to coarse wood shavings showed up to 60% higher weight of the gizzard and its content than caged layers fed the same diets without access to wood shavings. No such effect Was found by feeding oat diets. Thus, a significant interaction was found, indicating that the appetite for wood shavings may. be dependent,of fiber level of the diet. Appetite for wood shavings and paper was examined for birds fed wheat and oat diets in 2 other experiments. The intake of wood shavings and paper by birds fed a wheat-based diet was numerically twice as high as in birds fed an oat-based diet. However, the individual variation was remarkably high.Neutral detergent fiber (NDF) concentration in the gizzard of birds fed the oat diet was up to twice (P < 0.05) the fiber Concentration in the gizzard of birds-fed the wheat diet. Passage of structural fibers through the gizzard and the appetite for feathers in the absence of structural fibers were also studied in an experiment using diets based on rice and casein. Coarse fiber structures were observed to accumulate in the gizzard. In the absence of fiber, birds ate feathers, indicating that birds may eat feathers, to compensate for the lack of structural components in the feed.
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