Effect of dietary field pea (Pisum sativum L.) supplementation on growth performance, and carcass and meat quality of broiler chickens

In an experiment with 480 one-day-old male broiler chickens, the effect of partial replacement of soybean meal and corn with raw field peas (FP; Pisum sativum L) on growth performance and carcass and meat quality was determined. In the 42-d experiment, broiler chickens were allocated to 5 dietary treatments: FP-none, FP-low, FP-medium, FP-high, and FP-very high with 4 pens per treatment and 24 broiler chickens per pen, and received a diet ad libitum. The experiment was divided into 3 periods: starter period (1-14 d of age), grower period (15-28 d of age), and finisher period (29-42 d of age). In all 3 periods, the diets for treatment FP-none had no FP (control), while those for treatments FP-low, FP-medium, FP-high, and FP-very high included 40, 80, 120, and 160 g FP/kg, respectively, during the starter period, 60, 120, 180, and 240 g FP/kg, respectively, during the grower period, and 120, 240, 360, and 480 g FP/kg, respectively, during the finisher period. Replacement of soybean meal and corn with up to 480 g FP/kg of diet resulted in similar productive performance. Moreover, carcass yield traits, skin color, and chemical composition were not affected by feeding diets with increasing levels of FP. Some differences (P < 0.05) were observed in fatty acid distribution in total lipids of breastand leg muscles, but the ratio of saturated to unsaturated fatty acids remained unaffected. In conclusion, depending on the age, inclusion levels up to 480 g raw FP/kg can be used as an alternative protein and energy source to replace soybean meal and corn in broiler chicken diets. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.