Effect of Corn Grinding Methods and Particle Size on the Nutrient Digestibility of Chahua Chickens

Simple Summary The methods for improving nutrient digestibility and using feed ingredients have been widely studied. Both hammer and roller mills have their advantages. A combination of both mills can maximize production capacity and cost-effectiveness and achieve an optimal particle size. This study investigates the effect of grinding methods, including roller mill, hammer mill, and two-stage grinding, on the particle size distribution of corn and the effect of corn particle size on the nutrient digestibility of native chickens in Southwest China. Combining roller and hammer mills tends to produce a more uniform particle size. Finely ground corn (between 700 & mu;m and 900 & mu;m) improved the nutrient digestibility of the chickens at week 12, and an increased particle size did not impact the crude protein (CP) and amino acid (AA) digestibility of the chickens at week 19. This study investigates the effect of grinding methods, including roller mill, hammer mill, and two-stage grinding, on the particle size distribution of corn and the effect of corn particle size on the nutrient digestibility of native chickens in Southwest China. The roller mill, hammer mill, and a combination of the hammer mill and roller mill were used to obtain corn with various coarseness. Corn with different coarseness obtained using a combination of the hammer mill and roller mill was fed to Chahua chicken No. 2-type chickens (CHC2s). A total of 192 CHC2s in weeks 12 and 19 were randomly allocated to eight groups in triplicate. The results show that the geometric mean diameter (d(gw)) and the geometric standard deviation (S-gw) were significantly (p < 0.05) affected by the grinding methods. The S-gw obtained when using a sieve of 2.0 mm in a hammer mill was lower (p < 0.05) than that obtained using a 4.5 mm sieve. Combining the roller mill and hammer mill increased the uniformity of the particle size when grinding coarse particles. For fine particles, the d(gw) and S-gw obtained when using the hammer mill were significantly lower (p < 0.05) than those obtained when using the roller mill and two-stage grinding method. Reducing the particle size of the corn (<900 & mu;m) significantly increased the dry matter, crude protein, amino acid digestibility, and apparent metabolizable energy in the chicken in weeks 12 and 19. Fine particles significantly increased the crude protein digestibility of the CHC2s at week 12, while there was no significant effect on the crude protein and amino acid digestibility in the CHC2s at week 19. In conclusion, different grinding methods can affect the particle size distribution. For a coarse particle size, combining the roller mill and hammer mill tends to produce a more uniform particle size. Finely ground corn (between 700 & mu;m and 900 & mu;m) improved the dry matter (DM), apparent metabolizable energy (AME), and crude protein (CP) digestibility of the CHC2s at week 12. An increased particle size did not impact the CP and amino acid (AA) digestibility of the CHC2s at week 19.