The Effects of Three Physical Forms of Wheat on the Weight Gains and Feed Efficiencies of Pullets from Hatching to Fifteen Weeks of Age

THE effects of grinding, pelleting and diet balance on the metabolizable energy values of cereal grains and on the performances of chickens have been reviewed in a previous report (McIntosh et al., 1962). The results obtained by these workers indicated that no consistent increase in metabolizable energy (M.E.) resulted from the grinding or pelleting of cereal grains. Whole wheat was found to yield more M.E. than the ground (2 experiments) or pelleted (1 experiment) forms. However, in a third experiment, no difference was evident in the M.E. content of the diets or in the weight gains or feed efficiencies of chickens fed ground, pelleted or whole wheat. The balance of the diet was found to exert a variable effect on the M.E. which was dependent upon the type and physical form of the grain under study. Replacement of corn with wheat in poultry rations may influence chick weight gains and …