Using eggs as feed for "egg layers" strikes me as odd and expensive. But obviously, an egg is just as complete a protein as it is possible to find for a chick.
This completeness of protein isn't there with beans or any vegetable food used alone. Balancing the components of vegetable proteins so that the chicken can fully utilize the food and grow is an important skill for the animal nutritionist.
I'm no nutritionist but it is my understanding that bean seed has both nutrients and what are called "antinutrients." We all know that beans can be a little difficult to digest. But, as it matures, the seed develops compounds that inhibit the utilization of other nutrients in other foods. This can be fairly serious since it may inhibit the use by the animal of proteins, minerals, and may even effect blood clotting.
Apparently, heat breaks down these antinutrients. Sprouting does too but I'm not sure how complete a job it does. Some beans, peas, etc. - don't have as much of these antinutrients as others. Therefore, a critter eating raw field peas, for instance, may not have as much trouble as it would have eating raw soybeans.
Sources of information on antinutrients in feeds is sort of scattered. Since heat de-activates the compounds, it is evidently fairly easy to deal with the problems. You can read a little about the antinutrients in soymeal in this book on poultry nutrition.
Steve
This completeness of protein isn't there with beans or any vegetable food used alone. Balancing the components of vegetable proteins so that the chicken can fully utilize the food and grow is an important skill for the animal nutritionist.
I'm no nutritionist but it is my understanding that bean seed has both nutrients and what are called "antinutrients." We all know that beans can be a little difficult to digest. But, as it matures, the seed develops compounds that inhibit the utilization of other nutrients in other foods. This can be fairly serious since it may inhibit the use by the animal of proteins, minerals, and may even effect blood clotting.
Apparently, heat breaks down these antinutrients. Sprouting does too but I'm not sure how complete a job it does. Some beans, peas, etc. - don't have as much of these antinutrients as others. Therefore, a critter eating raw field peas, for instance, may not have as much trouble as it would have eating raw soybeans.
Sources of information on antinutrients in feeds is sort of scattered. Since heat de-activates the compounds, it is evidently fairly easy to deal with the problems. You can read a little about the antinutrients in soymeal in this book on poultry nutrition.
Steve
Last edited:
