Effect of dietary field pea (Pisum sativum L.) supplementation on growth performance, and carcass and meat quality of broiler chickens

In an experiment with 480 one-day-old male broiler chickens, the effect of partial replacement of soybean meal and corn with raw field peas (FP; Pisum sativum L.) on growth performance and carcass and meat quality was determined. In the 42-d experiment, broiler chickens were allocated to 5 dietary treatments: FP-none, FP-low, FP-medium, FP-high, and FP-very high with 4 pens per treatment and 24 broiler chickens per pen, and received a diet ad libitum. The experiment was divided into 3 periods: starter period (1-14 d of age), grower period (15-28 d of age), and finisher period (29-42 d of age). In all 3 periods, the diets for treatment FP-none had no FP (control), while those for treatments FP-low, FP-medium, FP-high, and FP-very high included 40, 80, 120, and 160 g FP/kg, respectively, during the starter period, 60, 120, 180, and 240 g FP/kg, respectively, during the grower period, and 120, 240, 360, and 480 g FP/kg, respectively, during the finisher period. Replacement of soybean meal and corn with up to 480 g FP/kg of diet resulted in similar productive performance. Moreover, carcass yield traits, skin color, and chemical composition were not affected by feeding diets with increasing levels of FP. Some differences (P<0.05) were observed in fatty acid distribution in total lipids of breast- and leg muscles, but the ratio of saturated to unsaturated fatty acids remained unaffected. In conclusion, depending on the age, inclusion levels up to 480 g raw FP/kg can be used as an alternative protein and energy source to replace soybean meal and corn in broiler chicken diets.