Metabolizable Energy and Amino Acid Bioavailability of Field Pea Seeds in Broilers Diets

The aim of this study was to determine the apparent （AME） ＆ true （TMEn） metabolizable energy as well as the crude protein （CP） ＆ amino acid （AA） total tract （by excreta collection） digestibility （bioavailability） of field pea seeds （FPS） of the Greek cultivar ＂Olympos＂. Forty eight broilers were placed in individual cages and randomly allocated into 4 dietary treatments. Birds consumed 80 g/d of either a typical commercial diet or the same diet in which 100, 200 or 300 g/kg had been substituted by ground FPS. The experiment lasted 15 d. Apparent and true CP bioavailability of FPS were significantly decreased （P 〈 0.05） only at the inclusion rate of 300 g/kg. AA bioavailability remained at high levels （-0.80）, with the exception of methionine and valine and was similar to CP mean. The mean AME and TMEn values of FPS were estimated equal to 10.8 and 11.0 MJ ME/kg, respectively.