The nutritional value of raw, autoclaved and dehulled peas (Pisum sativum L.) in chicken diets as affected by enzyme supplementation

The effects of added crude enzyme preparations, autoclaving and dehulling on the nutritional value of diets containing a low-tannin (Trapper) and high-tannin (Maple) cultivar of peas (Pisum sativum L.) for chicks were determined in four experiments. The addition of crude enzymes from different sources and at different concentrations to a diet containing 75% of the low-tannin peas did not improve chick performance (exp. 1). Similarly, no improvement in performance was observed when a combination of crude enzymes was added to the diet containing whole or dehulled low-tannin peas, (exp. 2). Autoclaved treatment and enzyme addition to the diet containing the high-tannin Maple peas improved (P < 0.05) the feed-to-gain ratio but not the weight gain (exp. 3). Autoclaving or dehulling improved the apparent metabolizable energy (21 vs. 30%) and apparent protein digestibility (11 vs. 15%) of the high-tannin peas, respectively, in contrast to the low-tannin peas (experiment 4). Dehulling improved the feed-to-gain ratio of chickens fed both cultivars of peas. In conclusion, the results indicate that addition of crude enzymes to diets containing raw or dehulled low-tannin peas do not improve the chick performance but improve the feed efficiency of chicks when fed with the high-tannin peas. Autoclaving and dehulling improved the apparent metabolizable energy and protein digestibility values of high-tannin Maple peas while dehulling improved the feed-to-gain ratio of both cultivars.