EVALUATION OF NAKED OAT (AVENA-NUDA) IN THE BROILER CHICKEN DIET

Broiler chickens were fed starter diets containing 0, 250 or 500 g kg-1 naked oat and, from 29 to 40 d of age, grower diets with 0, 250, 500 or 750 g kg-1 naked oat. All diets included an enteric antibiotic and water-miscible forms of vitamins A, D, E and K. Broiler performance, as evaluated by weight gain and feed:gain ratio, was as good as or better than the corn-soy control diet with up to 500 g kg-1 naked oat in the starter diets. A starter-by-grower diet interaction showed that weight gain was independent of oat level in the grower diet of birds previously fed naked oat, but gain was impaired by higher levels of oat following an oat-free starter diet. Carcass quality improved with increasing oat level in the starter diet by a decrease in abdominal fat and a decrease in oxidation of thigh meat lipids.