Effect of Feeding Guar Gum to Chicks on Utilization of Nutrients

The effect of addition of graded amounts of pure guar gum on the utilisation of nutrients by growing cliicks was examined in two separate experiments. In experiment 1 kuar gum was added at 0.5, 1.0 or 2.0% levels in diets containing herring meal as the only source of protein, whereas the effect of adding 2.5 or 5.0 % gum to the basal diet on the uptake of dietary nutrients by chicks was examined in another experiment. In addition, the effect of adding 5.0% of a mixture of galactose and mannose (35:65) to the basal diet on the performance of chicks was also studied. Dietary addition of guar gum decreased significantly (P<0.05) the protein utilisation, nitrogen retention, apparent metabolisability of dry mutter fat absorbability, metabolisable energy, digestibility, of glucose and starch, and apparent metabolisability of amino acids by chicks. The adverse effects were more pronounced at higher levels. At lower levels, the birds tended to eat more feed but consumption dropped sharply, as the level of gum in diet increased beyond 1.0%. There was an inverse relationship between the dietary gum content and live weight gains by chicks. Inclusion of galactose and mannose in the diet did not affect the performance of chicks.