Energy Value and Amino Acid Bioavailability of Faba Bean Seeds in Broilers Diets

The aim of this study was to determine the apparent (AME) and true metabolizable energy (TME(subscript n)) as well as the crude protein (CP) and amino acid (AA) total tract (by excreta collection) digestibility (bioavailability) of faba bean seeds (FBS) of the Greek cultivar ”Polikarpi”. Forty eight broilers were placed in individual cages and randomly allocated into 4 dietary treatments. Birds consumed 80 g d^(-1) of either a typical commercial diet or the same diet in which 100, 200 or 300 g kg^(-1) had been substituted by ground FBS. The experiment lasted 15 d. Apparent and true CP bioavailability of FBS were significantly decreased (P ＜ 0.05) only at the inclusion rate of 300 g kg^(-1). AA bioavailability remained at high levels (~0.80) with the exception of cystine and was similar to CP mean. The mean AME and TME(subscript n) values of FBS were estimated equal to 11.1 and 11.4 MJ ME kg^(-1), respectively.