Nutritive Value of Red Kidney Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) for Chicks

Inclusion of raw red kidney beans ( Phaseolus vulgaris ) at a level of 30% or above in the diet of chicks produced growth retardation and pancreatic hypertrophy. Autoclaving the kidney beans at 121°C for 30 minutes considerably improved weight gains and eliminated the pancreatic enlargement. A diet containing one per cent hemagglutinin (devoid of trypsin inhibitor) significantly lowered the growth rate of chicks without pancreatic enlargement. Supplementing the diet containing 50% red kidney beans with deficient essential amino acids did not result in growth performance equivalent to that with a control corn-soybean meal-type diet.