Wellawattage Perera

Citation

Thesis Title
Influence of feed processing and enzyme supplementation on performance, nutrient utilization and gut morphology of poultry fed barley-based diets

Barley is an alternative feed ingredient for chickens raised for meat, known as broilers. However, poultry nutritionists are cautious about using barley in broiler diets, as barley is high in non-starch polysaccharides, which are hard to digest, and impair the broilers’ growth. Ms Perera investigated potential methods to improve the value of barley for broilers, focusing on feed-processing techniques, and enzymes. Ms Perera found that barley can safely be used to replace up to 50 percent of wheat in broiler diets, if the diet formulations use cultivar-specific values for metabolisable energy, and digestible amino acids. Ms Perera’s research both improves our knowledge about the optimum barley use in broiler diets, and provides a model for evaluating other alternative feedstuffs.

Supervisors
Associate Professor Reza Abdollahi
Professor Ravi Ravindran
Associate Professor Tim Wester
Dr Rana Ravindran
Dr Fifi Zaefarian