Corn-based poultry diets require
good mash conditioning—the application
of moisture and heat over time—in
order to activate the inherent binders
that make a high quality pellet. For example,
proper conditioning opens starch
cells in raw corn, disrupting the organization
of amylose and amylopectin
molecules which reform around other
ingredient molecules in a process
known as gelatinization. Free amylopectin
generated from conditioning is
primarily responsible for the improvement
in pellet quality