Enzyme Sources and Their Value in Barley Rations For Chick Growth and Egg Production

Abstract

IMPROVED growth by water treatment of western barley was first reported by Fry et al. (1957a). Workers in the same laboratory (Jensen et al., 1957) obtained similar growth response with the addition of fungal enzymes to chick rations containing a high percentage of western barley or pearled barley. Willingham et al. (1958) obtained a growth response of both chicks and poults with enzymes obtained from either fungal or bacterial sources. Eight varieties of barley grown in Washington responded to both enzyme and water treatment. Water consumption and moisture content of feces were also reduced. No improvement was obtained by enzyme supplementation of wheat, corn or oats (Fry et al., 1957b) or with sources of barley other than western (Laerdal et al., 1959; and Willingham et al., 1960) although the latter group did obtain improvement when midwest barley was water treated. Willingham (1964) also reported that water treatment of western barley . . .