Crude fibre – what is it and what role does it play in hen nutrition?
Did you know that… Crude fibre is an important component of plant-based feeds that influences feed value, production and animal health?
The most important sources of crude fibre are cereal grains. Maize has the lowest crude fibre content, barley and oats the highest. The minimum fibre content in poultry feed should be at least 2%.
Either the dietary fibres dissolve in the body and have a positive effect on digestion, or there is too much crude fibre in the body, which reduces the feed intake of the birds and impairs digestion. We have therefore listed the positive and negative properties of crude fibre.
EN: How does the crude fibre help our hens?
- binds water in the stomach and has a satiating effect, which means that feed intake is not so high and the birds do not eat too much (chickens that get too much feed, for example, have a lower laying performance)
- makes the feed move more slowly through the digestive tract, which increases the amount of digestive enzymes released, which has a positive effect on the digestive process
- has a so-called “gut brushing” effect, which collects feed residues and excess micro-organisms
- has a prebiotic effect – some of the ingredients of the fibre are absorbed by the intestinal microbiome and used, among other things, to form chain fatty acids.
Why and when can crude fibres be harmful?
The most important factors for the nutritionally harmful effects of crude fibres are non-starch polysaccharides, and through their action the following can occur:
- poorer absorption of nutrients
- the occurrence of calcium and sodium deficiencies
- excessive viscosity of the digestive contents, which can lead to intestinal inflammation
- the formation of viscous faeces, which increases the moisture in the litter and creates ideal conditions for the growth of undesirable micro-organisms
What can we do to prevent the negative effects of crude fibre on the chicken’s organism?
Feed manufacturers try to counteract the negative effects of crude fibre on the hens’ digestive process with various feed additives. One well-known measure is strict adherence to nutritional standards in terms of the percentage of each type of grain in the feed mix. The most common cereals in poultry diets are maize, wheat and barley. Complete feed mixtures with a higher proportion of wheat (over 45 %) and barley (over 30 %) require the addition of feed enzymes in the form of finished preparations that break down crude fibre fractions. In addition to the use of enzyme supplements, cellulose-lignin supplements (structural carbohydrates – insoluble crude fibre fractions, the proportion of which in the feed should not exceed 5 %) are also used.
Although crude fibre is still underestimated in poultry nutrition, we hope we have been able to give you an overview of how it can affect chickens and whether its presence in the grain is more likely to help or harm us.
As you can see, it has many positive properties, but it can also have negative effects on chickens. However, the most important thing is to keep the balance and pay attention to the fibre content of the feed ration. In this way we can achieve a high standard of feeding and ensure that the laying performance of the hens is at a satisfactory level.
