Use of faba beans (Vicia faba L.) in diets of laying hens

Abstract

The study was conducted to evaluate an appropriate inclusion level of locally produced unprocessed or expander-processed coloured flowered faba bean (FB) (cv. ‘Kontu’) seeds in diets for laying hens. Egg production and egg quality variables were determined with 560 hens (Lohmann Selected Leghorn, LSL Classic) in a 40-week continued experiment. The hens were fed one of the five diets containing soybean meal as the main protein source. A diet without FB was served as a control diet. Both unprocessed and expander-processed FB was tested either in proportions of 50 g kg-1 or 100 g kg-1 in the diet. Faba bean inclusion (control vs. FB diets) had no effect on the egg production rate, egg mass production, feed consumption, or feed conversion ratio, but it decreased egg weight (p<0.05). Dietary FB inclusion tended to increase the mortality of the hens (p<0.10). Faba bean processing had no effects on egg production parameters or hen mortality. Daily egg mass production decreased and feed conversion ratio increased when FB proportion increased (from 50 to 100 g kg-1, p<0.05). Faba bean inclusion had no effects on egg exterior quality. It can be concluded that 50 g kg-1 of the FB studied (cv. ‘Kontu’) can be used in the diets of laying hens (LSL Classic) without negative effects on production performance or livability.