Investigation of the Effects of Oat and Barley Feeding on Performance and Some Lipid Parameters in Table Ducks

The effects of barley and oat feeding in table duck were investigated. During a 49-day growing period a corn-based diet was supplemented by 45% barley and 45% oats (isonitrogenously and iso-energetically), respectively. Daily feed intake, FCR-, and weight gain were measured. Abdominal fat, liver, and gizzard weights were determined and dry matter, protein, fat content and fatty acid composition of femoro-tibial muscles and liver fat were measured on the $35^{th}$, $42^{nd}$ and $49^{th}$ days of age. Feeding 45% barley caused a decrease of growth rate ($p{\leq}0.05$) during the first 4 weeks, which was followed by a rapid, compensatory growth from the $6^{th}$ week of age ($p{\leq}0.05$). Both barley and oat supplementation increased protein ($p{\leq}0.05$), while decreasing fat ($p{\leq}0.05$) and dry matter ($p{\leq}0.05$) content of the liver. Feeding of 45% oats in the diet decreased the monounsaturated fatty acid ($p{\leq}0,05$) and increased the n-6 ($p{\leq}0,05$), n-3 ($p{\leq}0,05$) and total polyunsaturated ($p{\leq}0,05$) fatty acid content of the intramuscular fat owing to the high proportion of soluble non-starch polysaccharides (NSP) in the diet. This might be explained by the more pronounced decrease in digestibility of saturated than unsaturated fatty acids in birds fed a soluble NSP-enriched diet. This result might be caused by the "cage effect" of soluble NSP trapping the bile salts which are more important for the absorption of saturated than polyunsaturated fatty acids.