Amino acid digestibility and metabolisable energy of spring and winter faba beans grown on two sites and effects of dehulling in caecectomised laying hens.

Background: The variation in amino acid (AA) digestibility and metabolisable energy (ME ) in four spring and four winter faba bean genotypes differing in vicine/convicine (V/C) concentrations grown on two sites was investigated in caecectomised LSL-Classic laying hens. Effects of dehulling one faba bean genotype were also examined. Diets containing one out of 17 faba bean variants each and a basal diet were fed to ten caecectomised laying hens in a row-column design to achieve five replicates per diet.