• Faba Beans
• Value-Added

Objective

To establish energy and amino acid digestibility of tannin, zero tannin, frosted and non-frost damaged faba bean for poultry. To evaluate effects on nutrient digestibility of dehulling to reduce tannin content and hull frost damage. Dose-titrate inclusion of faba bean in broiler diets to optimize growth performance. To compare feeding of tannin, zero tannin faba bean varieties and dehulling on broiler growth performance, carcass and yeild of cuts. To calculate the reduction in carbon footprint feeding locally-grown faba bean vs. imported soybean meal.

Outcome

Frost damage at harvest time increased the digestibility of energy, protein and amino acid in faba bean cultivars vs. early planting/harvesting. The assumption is that frost arrested the maturation process on the field despite desiccation. The harvested softer, immature, green cotyledon beans were more digestible than if bean maturation was complete. Broiler producers can feed any of the zero-tannin (Snowbird, Snowdrop, Tabasco) or tannin cultivars (Fabelle, Malik) tested and introduced them at high inclusion levels (15% in starter, 30% in grower, 45% in finisher) without being concerned of affecting growth performance, carcass traits or yield of saleable cuts. There is no need to de-hull faba bean to reduce the effect of tannins concentrated on the hull as anti-nutritional factors. Broilers performed not differently either fed hulled or dehulled zero-tannin or tannin-faba bean cultivars.

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