Research Objective
To evaluate the effect of grinding size and cold pelleting on rate and site of starch digestion, protein digestion, and digestible and apparent metabolizable energy (AME) of peas for 21 day-old broiler chickens.
Pea cultivar and used feed processing should be considered when poultry diets are formulated with pea. Laying hen producers can include up to 300 g/kg of pea in diets. Broiler producers should consider the flock age as they include pea in their chickens diets. For starter diets (0 to 10 d) a maximum of 300 g/kg pea inclusion is recommended whereas up to 600 g/kg of pea can be used to formulate grower and finisher diets. DL–methionine, L–threonine, and L–tryptophan should be supplemented as needed.