Effect of Particle Size on Performance.

Three experiments were conducted to study the effect of particle size obtained by grinding wheat and sorghum in a hammer mill (HM) or roller mill (RM) on broiler performance. Broilers were fed a mash diet or crumbles to 4 wk of age, then pellets to 7 wk of age. When fed as a mash, diets produced with RM-ground grain improved performance. The effect of grinding was additive to that of pelleting. The interactive effects observed between grinding method and the form of the feed on body weight and feed intake were explained by the higher response to pelleting when grains were ground in HM vs RM. The positive effect of grinding in RM on feed utilization was found to be additive to that of pelleting in all three experiments. The response of females to feed texture was less pronounced than that of males. In males, feeding pellets vs mash increased mortality due to ascites threefold, whereas grinding method had no effect. Females were less susceptible to ascites than males, and feed texture had no effect in this respect. The effects of grinding and pelleting on the gastrointestinal tract segments were additive. The main effects of feed texture were a significant increase in stomach weight and that of its contents following HM grinding and a decrease in these following pelleting, with no interactions between the two.