Use of Vicia ervilia L. in animal nutrition [Burçaǧi{dotless}n (Vicia ervilia L.) hayvan beslemede kullani{dotless}lmasi{dotless}]

The increasing costs of conventional feedstuffs like corn,soybean meal and fish meal for poultry diets is pushing the need to find less expensive alternatives. bitter vetch is a good and inexpensive source of protein and energy. bitter vetch is a good source of metabolisable energy (13.57 mj/kg),protein (24%) and minerals especially iron,copper,potassium,phosphorus and chlorine. its amino acid profile is very close to soybean meal,including being a good source of lysine. bitter vetch seeds has been used in animal feeds and,when treated,as an alternative source of protein in poultry diet. raw bitter vetch,however,is detrimental to monogastric animals,especially chickens. the bitter vetchs are used in ruminant feeds. some processing techniques have been found to be relatively effective in reducing the toxic or adverse effects of bitter vetch. in this paper,feeding studies made on the vicia ervilia l. used in nutrition of poultry and ruminant species have been reviewed.