Effect of feeding technique, ad libitum, dry or wet force feeding, on the metabolisable energy values of raw materials for poultry.

1. Metabolisable energy values (AME, AMEn, TME and TMEn) of three raw materials (maize, sunflower meal and soyabean meal) were determined in adult cockerels using two classical feeding e techniques (ad libitum and force-feeding of dry food) and a new one in which birds were force-fed wet diets. 2. In the wet force-feeding assay nitrogen balances and food intakes were similar to those achieved with ad libitum feeding. The duration of the assay using wet force-feeding was only 2 d as compared to the 3 or 7 d experimental periods for the dry or the ad libitum assays respectively. 3. TMEn values were not dependent on the feeding technique used; AME and AMEn data obtained in the ad libitum and wet force-feeding assays were close to TMEn values. As expected, these values were underestimated in the dry force-feeding assay.