The effect of the field bean variety 'Ada' on broiler growth and nutritional value of meat.

The effect of natural and processed (heated) field beans of the Lithuanian variety ‛Ada’ on the growth of broilers up to the age of 6 weeks was investigated. Every experimental group was divided into two subgroups: the birds of subgroup (a) received not-heated (natural) field beans in the diet, while the chickens of subgroup (b) received the same amount of heated field beans in the diet. The broilers of group 1 received 15% of soy-bean meal and 5% of field beans, group 2 received 10% of soy-bean meal and 10% of field beans, group 3 received 5% of soy-bean meal and 15% of field beans and group 4 received 20% of field beans instead of soy-bean meal. The replacement of soy-bean meal by heated and non-heated field beans resulted in 2.5% and 1.8% higher weight of male chicken broilers, respectively. The best growth results of female chicken broilers were obtained when 20% of soy-bean meal was replaced with natural field beans and 5% soy-bean meal. However, the diet with heated field beans resulted in a slightly smaller weight increase (+1.7%). The content of abdominal fat in the carcass of male and female chicken broilers was increasing with the increasing amount of field beans in the diet. The content of amino acids in the meat of breast and legs did not depend on the composition of diets and gender but it depended on the anatomy of muscles.