Recent research on improving the quality of grain legumes for chicken growth

Grain legumes are potential sources of energy and amino acids for poultry, but their use is still limited because of uncertainty about the amount and effect of any antinutritional factors (ANF) they may contain. Their ANF can be decreased and their nutritional quality increased through plant breeding, by mechanical treatment (dehulling), by heat treatment or by supplementation with enzyme mixtures. The improvement of the nutritive value is related to increases in the metabolizable energy (ME) values and the digestibility of the proteins of the grain legumes.