Effect of faba bean (Vicia faba var. minor) inclusion in starter and growing diet on performance, carcass and meat characteristics of organic slow-growing chickens.

This paper assesses the effect of faba bean (Vicia Faba minor), in partial substitution of soybean, on productive performance, carcass and meat traits of slow-growing chickens readed under the organic method. Faba bean was used in both starter (1-21 d) and growing/finisher diets (22-120 d). One thousand birds were fed two different diets containing respectively, soybean or faba bean as the main protein source for the entire rearing period. The birds of each group were slaughtered at 120 d of age. The productive performance of group F was the worst, with a higher mortality rate, indicating that faba bean diets are not able to cover the nutritional requirements of birds mainly in the first rearing period. The main carcass and meat qualitative traits, were not affected by the treatment, whereas minor modification regards saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids.