Response of Broiler Chickens to Diets Containing Varying Levels of Rumen Filtrate Fermented Wheat Offal

Effects of fermented barley or wheat as feed supplement on growth performance, gut health and meat quality of broilers

Two-hundred (200) day old broiler chicks of Anak 2000 breed from a commercial hatchery were used to investigate the effect of replacing wheat offals with sweet orange peel meal in broiler rations. The birds were fed on 0%, 50%, 75% and 100% dietary inclusion of sweet orange peel meal as replacement for wheat offals in a 28 day feeding trial. Significant interaction between dietary levels of sweet orange peel meal and wheat offals were observed on feed efficiency and weight gain (p<0.05). Increase in dietary levels of sweet orange peel meal reduced feed transit time in gastro-intestinal tract (GIT) (p<0.05) while supplementary wheat offal had the opposite effect (p<0.05). It was concluded that broiler chicks could tolerate up to 75% dietary levels of sweet orange peel meal without wheat offal added to such a diet, performance was comparable to that of birds fed a standard diet with money saved in the process.

Food crisis in the developing countries especially Nigeria is affecting both man and domesticated animals. The use of grain such as maize in feed production for poultry is creating more shortage of maize for man with the growing population and high demand in the country. There is a need for alternative products for producing poultry feeds from agricultural waste to reduce the competition. This study was conducted to determine the growth response of broiler chickens to feeds produced from wheat offal (agricultural waste product from wheat) and maize. A total of 50 broiler chickens (day-old) were used with 25 birds (5 birds in each replicate) fed with feed made from wheat offal and 25 birds fed with feed made from maize and monitored for 12 weeks. The body weight of the broilers was recorded weekly for 12 weeks, and the feed conversion ratio was also determined. The mean weights of the broilers fed with wheat offal for day-old, weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 were 76.6, 115.6, 144.0, 186.0, 305.6, 462.6, 562.0, 693.6, 758.8, 814.4, 866.4, 956.8 and 1,032.8 g/broiler while the corresponding weights for broilers fed with maize feed were 99.6, 129.6, 151.2, 188.8, 234.8, 300.0, 386.8, 466.8, 550.8, 646.8, 732.4, 804.0 and 882.8 g/broiler, respectively. Wheat offal feed increased the body weight of the broilers by 16.99% at 12-week compared to broilers fed with maize feed. Broiler feed should be produced from wheat offal to reduce the competition and make more availability of maize for human consumption.

This experiment was conducted to determine the blood chemistry and carcass characteristics of broilers fed malted sorghum sprouts (MSP) or wheat offal (W/O)-based diets supplemented with yeast culture and enzyme. A total of two hundred and forty 28-day old, Marshal Broiler chickens used for the experiment were randomly allotted to 8 dietary treatment groups of 30 birds each. Each treatment group was replicated thrice with 10 birds per replicate. Data on selected blood indices and carcass traits of the birds were collected during the course of the feeding trial that lasted for 4 weeks. The experiment was a 2X4 factorial consisting of two (2) test ingredients (MSP and wheat offal) at 4 inclusion levels of enzyme or yeast (0g kg-1, +0.01gkg-1 yeast and Roxazyme G2(G) enzyme, +0.01gkg-1 yeast ,+ Roxazyme G2(G) enzyme. At the end of the trial, the effect of MSP and wheat offal inclusion showed a significant effect (P&lt;0.05) for uric acid, WBC, Total protein, albumin and globulin. However, uric acid, total protein, Albumin and Globulin were highest for wheat offal diet. Furthermore, the results show that values obtained for white blood cell, uric acid, total protein, albumin, globulin, creatinine, ALT&amp; AST were significantly (P&lt;0.05) affected by the enzyme, yeast and their combination. The carcass results show that none of the parameters measured differed significantly. In conclusion, supplementation with yeast + enzyme improves total protein, albumin and globulin. Meanwhile, it reduced concentrations of uric acid, ALT and AST by broiler chickens. Therefore MSP diet should be supplemented with yeast+ enzyme or enzyme singly to improve Livestock ration for better utilisation.

This experiment was conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm, Department of Animal Production, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi to investigate the carcass yield and organs characteristics of broiler chickens fed white maize and full fat soya beans-based diets containing graded levels of rice milling waste (RMW) as replacement for wheat offal. Five isocaloric and isonitrogenous diets were formulated in which rice milling waste replaced wheat offal at 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% in diets 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 respectively in both starter (23% CP) and finisher (20% CP). Three hundred (300) day old chicks were randomly allotted to the five diets in four replicates of fifteen birds each in a completely randomized design. Feed and water were given ad libitum and the experiment lasted for eight weeks. Proximate composition of the test material (RMW) indicated that it contains 94.12 Dry Matter, 5.21 Crude Protein, 31.40 Crude Fibre,3.42 Ether Extract, 20.13 Ash and 39.84 Nitrogen Free Extract. Most of the carcass parameters observed were not statistically influenced by the dietary levels of RMW, except on head (2.95 – 5.50g), legs (4.51 – 5.53g), large intestine length (3.20 – 5.37g) and gizzards (2.26 – 2.73g) which were significantly (P&lt;0.05) affected. However, values of live, plucked and carcass weights ranged between 1256.33-1380.51g, 1087.88-1231.47g and 863.12-1064.19g, respectively, while that of dressing percentages were between 65.35-78.77%. It was concluded that rice milling waste can replace 100 % of wheat offal as fibre source in the diets of broiler chickens without adverse effects on the carcass yield and organs characteristics. It was therefore recommended for use in broiler chickens’ diets to reduce cost of production and over dependance on the conventional wheat offal.

Two-hundred (200) four weeks old broiler chickens of Anak 2000 breed from Imo State Polytechnic Research farm were used to investigate the effect of sweet orange peel meal in broiler rations.&nbsp; The birds were fed on 0%, 2.50%, 5.00%, 7.50% and 10.00% dietary inclusion of sweet orange peel meal as replacement for wheat offals in a 28 day feeding trial.&nbsp; Significant difference between dietary levels of sweet orange peel meal and wheat offals were observed on feed efficiency and weight gain (p&lt;0.05).&nbsp; Increase in dietary levels of sweet orange peel meal reduced feed transit time in gastro-intestinal tract (GIT) (p&lt;0.05) while supplementary wheat offal had the opposite effect (p&lt;0.05).&nbsp; It was concluded that broiler chickens could tolerate up to 7.50% dietary levels of sweet orange peel meal without wheat offal added to such a diet, performance was comparable to that of birds fed a standard diet with money saved in the process.

The experiment was conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm, Department of Animal Production, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Bauchi to evaluate the utilization and economic benefits of broiler chicken production using graded levels of rice milling waste (RMW) as replacement for wheat offal in white maize and full fat soya beans-based diets. Five isocaloric and isonitrogenous diets were formulated in which rice milling waste replaced wheat offal at 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% in diets 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, respectively at both starter (23% CP) and finisher (20% CP) phases. Three hundred (300) day old chicks were randomly allotted to the five dietary treatments, with four replicates of fifteen birds each in a Completely Randomized Design. Feed and water were given ad libitum throughout the eight weeks period (four weeks of starter and finisher each). Proximate composition of the Rice Milling Waste indicated that it contains 94.12 Dry Matter, 5.21 Crude Protein, 31.40 Crude Fibre, 3.42 Ether Extract, 20.13 Ash and 39.84 Nitrogen Free Extract. Results of the performance parameters showed no statistical significance (P&gt;0.05) in most of the productive performance parameters except feed conversion ratio in finisher (2.81 – 3.72) and overall phases (2.29 – 2.75) which significantly differ at P&lt;0.05. The values of initial weights of birds ranged from 82.07 – 85.65g while that of body weight changes at week four were from 116.60 – 1209. 27g and 1272.70 – 1620.31g for total weight gain. At starter phase, daily feed intake ranged from 68.20 – 70.89g , daily weight gain from 38.64 – 40.15g and feed conversion ratio from 1.72 – 1.83g. In finisher and the overall phases, the values of daily feed intake of 158.71 – 164.11g and 113.45 – 117.50g were obtained while 45.45 – 57.23g and 42.47 – 49.00g for daily weight gain respectively. The total feed cost was lowest in diet 5 (N105.70) and higher in diet 1 (control, N110.46) and the feed cost/kg gain (N) was higher in diet 3 (N555.12) and lower in diet 5 (N 426.72). It was concluded that rice milling waste can completely replace wheat offal in broiler chickens’ diets using white maize and full fat soya bean-based diets without affecting the overall productive performance of the birds with concomitant cost reduction in feed cost and feed cost per kg gain. It is therefore recommended for use in place of the costly wheat offal using white maize and full fat soya bean as sources of energy and protein respectively.

Se realizó un estudio de alimentación de 5 semanas para evaluar la idoneidad de la paja de soja (SC) como reemplazo de los despojos de trigo en las dietas de pollos de engorde. Un total de trescientos sesenta (360), 21 días de edad, pollos de engorde se pesaron individualmente y se asignaron aleatoriamente a 1 de 3 tratamientos dietéticos con 8 plumas repetidas y 15 aves por repetición en un diseño completamente aleatorizado. Los tratamientos dietéticos consistieron en dietas basadas en maíz y soja que contenían 0, 50 y 100% de SC como reemplazo de los despojos de trigo. Los datos generados sobre el rendimiento de crecimiento, los índices de sangre, el rendimiento de la canal y las propiedades sensoriales de los pollos de engorde de acabado se analizaron mediante ANOVA usando PROC GLM de SAS (2007). Los resultados mostraron que un mayor peso final (P 0.05). Las aves alimentadas con SC al 100% tenían un peso vivo (P

The benefits/economy of production of using Rice Milling Residue (RMR) to replaced Wheat Offal (WO) as a fibre source in broiler chicken diets were evaluated in an eight (8) weeks feeding trials. A total of three hundred (300) day old Anak white strain unsexed broiler chicks which were randomly allocated to five (5) dietary treatments of sixty (60) birds per treatment and replicated three (3) times with twenty (20) birds per replicate in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD). Five experimental diets formulated with RMR replacing WO at 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% designated as treatments T1, T2, T3, T4, and T5 respectively. The Average Daily Feed Intake (ADFI), Average Daily Weight Gain (ADWG) ad Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) were not significantly different (P>0.05) across all dietary treatments. Results showed that T3 recorded the highest cost of feed intake (N773.73) per bird/kg and almost the least weight gained while T5 recorded the least feed intake (N712.72) per bird/kg and the highest weight gained (1.89 g) per bird/kg. The cost saving was better in T5 (N38.01) saved for every kilogram (kg) of feed formulated and least in T3 (- N34.52) meaning a loss or spending N34.52 above the control treatment over every kg of feed formulated. Revealing that it is of great economic benefit to replace WO with RMR as a fibre source up to 100% inclusion level.

Broiler litter (BL) is a major waste from poultry production that constitutes serious disposal and environmental pollution problems globally despite its potential as animal feed. Therefore, the objective of this study was to develop a simple procedure for converting broiler litter into animal feed using wheat offal (WO) and cattle blood (B) as absorbent and nutrient booster, respectively. Initially, broiler litter was mixed with increasing concentrations (w/w) of blood at 1:1 or 1:2 or 1:3, and then each to WO at 1:1 or 1:2 or 1:3, making nine different ratios/blends before sun drying for 4 h. Finally, three blends (BL:B - 1:1 or 1:2 or 1:3 each mixed to WO at 1:1) were selected for nutrient evaluation based on economic considerations and capacity to dry to ≤10% moisture content in 4 h. The blends and feces were analyzed for proximate composition. Birds were tube-fed respective blends, feces collected after 48 h and dried for 48 h at 60oC. Dry matter, apparent and true crude protein digestibilities were determined. Soybean meal, considered as the standard protein, analyzed for dry matter, apparent and true crude protein digestibility was compared to the blends. The results showed that all the nine different blends dried to ≤ 10% moisture content in 4 h (range, 6 – 9%) and the blends with the highest WO content had the lowest (P&lt;0.01) moisture contents. The three blends had crude protein and crude fiber ranging from about 19 – 28% and 8 - 12%, respectively. The blend with the highest blood concentration BL:B [1:3] to WO at 1:1) was superior (P&lt;0.01) to soybean meal in dry matter, apparent and true crude protein digestibility by broiler chickens. A simple method was developed to recycle broiler litter as animal feed in combination with wheat offal and cattle blood. The resulting product showed good potential as feedstuff for broiler chickens.

The recent development of antibiotics-resistant pathogens in poultry, which poses a threat to human health, has necessitated the search for an alternative to antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs) to improve the gut microflora in poultry diets. One of the alternatives to AGPs is probiotics which are beneficial organisms. The by-products of the digestion of polysaccharides for which poultry do not have enzymes to digest are called prebiotics. Prebiotics serve as food for probiotics. The application of enzymes makes this digestion possible. The prebiotic potentials of enzyme supplemented high fibre feedstuffs (HFFs) are not known. This study was conducted to assess the prebiotic potential of xylanase enzyme supplemented wheat offal on broiler chickens (in-vivo). The replacement of maize with wheat offal irrespective of levels supplemented with 100ppm xylanase enzyme caused a reduction in feed intake and an increase in weight gain and better feed conversion ratio. Birds fed diet with 20% wheat offal supplemented with a xylanase enzyme outperformed birds fed diets with 10 or 30% wheat offal supplemented with a xylanase enzyme and birds fed the control diet. The birds had normal weights of vital organs with good structural consistency. The identification of microbes (fungi and bacteria) showed that dietary levels of wheat offal (10, 20 or 30% inclusion) with supplementation of a xylanase enzyme enhanced the growth of beneficial microbes, which resulted in the inhibition or elimination of the opportunistic/pathogenic microbes. It was concluded that enzyme supplementation of high fibre feedstuffs could improve the growth performance, nutrient retention and increase concentration of beneficial microbes in the guts. The use of enzymes is therefore recommended when HFFs are required as a prebiotic source in the guts of broilers.

56 day’s feeding trial was conducted to investigate the effects of feeding different cereal grain by-products on the haematological and serum biochemical indices of broiler chickens. One hundred and fifty Amor broiler chickens were randomly allotted to five experimental diets formulated to contain Maize offal, Sorghum offal, Wheat offal, Millet offal and Brewers dried grains at 10 and 15% levels of inclusion for broiler starter and finisher phase respectively. Five treatment groups were replicated three times with ten birds per replicate in a completely randomized design. The result of the experiment showed no significant (P&gt;0.05) difference among the haematological values for packed cell volume (PCV), red blood cell (RBC), white blood cell (WBC), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC), neutrophils and monocytes. Significant effect of diet was only observed on lymphocyte. Serum biochemical parameters were significantly (P&lt;0.05) different in Albumin, Cholesterol and Glucose whose values were however within the normal range for healthy birds. Therefore, it could be concluded that feeding cereal grain by-products to broiler finishers at 15% levels of inclusion has no toxic effect on haematological and serum biochemical indices. This is an indication that broiler chickens fed cereal grain by-products were in good health, nutritionally adequate and in a state of readiness to combat attack by foreign bodies.

The fibrous nature of ground corn cobs limited their utilization in poultry production. Zymomonas mobilis derivable from fresh palm sap is proposed to ferment corn cobs to improve their nutritive values. An experiment was carried out to evaluate the effect of ground corn cobs inoculated with Zymomonas mobilis (CCZ) on growth response, apparent nutrient digestibility and ileal digesta viscosity of broiler chickens. Five diets containing treated and untreated corn cobs were formulated to replace wheat offal at 0, 50 and 100 % levels on weight for weight basis. A total of three hundred and seventy-five 1-day-old unsexed Marshall broiler chickens were randomly allotted to the five dietary treatments in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD). Results showed that the biodegradation of corn cobs resulted in improved (p &lt; 0.05) nutrient composition, crude protein increased by 63.90 % while the crude fibre decreased by 137.89 % after fermentation with Zymomonas mobilis. The broiler chickens fed 100 % CCZ had the lowest (p &lt; 0.05) values for feed conversion ratio (FCR) at both phases. The 50 % CCZ improved (p &lt; 0.05) crude fibre digestibility (CFD) at the finisher phase. However, 50 % and 100 % CCZ reduced (p &lt; 0.05) the ileal digesta viscosity of the broiler chickens. The birds fed 100 % CCZ had the highest (p &lt; 0.05) values of rate of return on investment, economic efficiency and relative cost-benefit. The study concluded that wheat offal could be replaced with 50 % and 100 % CCZ in the ration of broiler chickens with positive economic returns.

A 56 - day feeding trial was conducted to evaluate pineapple crush waste (PCW) as dietary fibre source in broiler diets. Five straight diets were formulated to contain the PCWat dietary levels of 0%, 2.5%, 5.0%, 7.5% and 10.0% as replacement for wheat offal. One hundred and fifty (150), day-old "Anak 2000" broiler chicks were randomly allotted to the 5 diets containing three replicates per treatment with 10 chicks per replicate in a completely randomized design (CRD). The final body weight, daily weight, daily feed intake and daily protein intake were generally higher in the birds fed diet 2 (2.5% PCW). There were significant (P&lt;0.05) differences in daily feed intake and daily protein intake between the group on diet l and the other groups, while daily weight gain, feed conversion ratio and protein efficiency ratio were statistically the same (P &gt;0.05) across the treatments. Digestible crude fibre values significantly (P &lt; 0.05) decreased with increasing levels of PCW in the diets while the other digestibility percentages were comparable (P &gt;0.05) in all dietary treatments. Values for the hematological parameters and blood serum chemistry did not deviate (P &gt;0.05) statistically from established normal values for chicken. However, liver weights significantly increased (P &lt; 0.05) across the dietary treatments while other organs observed did not differ significantly (P &gt;0.05) in weight across the treatments. Cost per kg feed decreased as the level of PCW inclusion in the diets increased while the cost per kg weight gain showed that birds sed on diet 4 (7.5% PCW) were the most economical to produce. The results suggest that PCW could replace wheat offal in broiler diet up to 10.0% as a dietary fibre source without any deleterious effect.

Effects of lactic acid fermentation on wheat and barley carbohydrate composition and production performance in the chicken