Effect of dietary inclusion level and particle size of barley hulls on intestinal morphology and bacteria population in broiler chickens

The insoluble fiber content of poultry feeds is often considered as an unfavorable factor which reduces the nutritive value of diet. The effects of barley hulls on performance traits of broiler chickens were evaluated. The experiment was carried out using 200 Ross 308 broiler chickens in a completely randomized design with 5 treatments and 4 replicates. The experimental diets consisted of a control hulls-free diet and four diets containing 0.75 or 1.5 percent barley hulls with particle sizes of less than 1 mm or between 1-2 mm. The dietary type did not affect feed intake of the experimental groups. In the whole the experimental period, the weight gain and feed conversion ratio in the broiler chickens feed, the diet that contained 1.5% barley hulls with 1-2 mm particle size improved compared to the control group (p