Cottonseed Cake Research Articles

English

This study was conducted to assess the effects of absence of a legal framework regulating the animal feeds industry on poultry value chain actor performance and sustainability. The objectives of the study were to identify the key constraints faced by individual farmers, livestock feed manufacturers, and field veterinary personnel; and assess challenges cutting across the industry actors. Data used in the study were collected using formal survey techniques and key informant surveys. Farmers who mix their own feed and those who buy already mixed reported poor quality and seasonal variation in prices as the main constraints associated with feeds. Adulteration of feed was mostly linked to scarcity of crop-based raw materials, namely maize, sunflower, cotton seedcake, and soya bean and those obtained from lakes, such as lake shells and haplochromis (silver fish) whose supply is seasonal in nature. The following findings are unveiled from the study. Intensive commercial poultry is a major source of income especially to female headed households. Long-term investment in housing structures confirms that farmers have a strong resolve to sustain poultry farming as a priority income generation enterprise. Performance, gains, and delivery of services by all value chain actors - farmers, feed manufacturers/ mixers, and field veterinary officers are adversely affected by lack of a regulations and standards as a result of absence of the animal feeds act. It is concluded that innovation platforms that bring together actors would be necessary to lobby government on legislation. This would enhance improved grain drying and bulk storage and put in place trade barriers restricting exportation of primary farm produce especially maize grain/bran. It is recommended that research expedites efforts to develop and promote energy substitutes to maize. Key words: Innovation platforms, policy, public-private-participation, supply chains.

Effect of Feeding Bt Cotton Seed Cake on Nubian Goats Milk Characteristic, Gezira State , Sudan

Cotton seed is a traditional protein and energy supplement in the ration of dairy goat .The objective of the experiment is to explore the effect of feeding Bt cotton seed cake on physico-chemical characteristic of goats milk and milk yield .The experiment was conducted in EL Nesheeshiba, Goat Research Center, University of Gezira. Wad Medani, Sudan . Six Nubian goats, were divided into two groups each of three on the basis of their date of kiding .Each goat was housed individually. Each group receive the same concentrate except for the source of cotton seed cake. Where one group received Bt-cotton seed cake and the other Non-Bt cotton seed cake a rate 34%. The result revealed that there was no significant difference (P>0.05) in overall mean between the two groups in physical and chemical composition. But within month were significant different (P≤0.05) in chemical and physical composition. The milk yield was significant higher (P≤0.05) in all months in the goats feed on Bt cotton seed cake. It is recommended that further studies are needed to investigate the causes of the effects of Bt-cotton seed cake on milk characteristics and any possible harmful effects on human.

Effect of strategic supplementation of limiting nutrients on milk production performance in crossbred cows under field conditions

An on-farm lactation trial of 4 months duration was conducted to study the effect of feeding strategic limiting nutrient supplements on milk production performance and hormonal profile of crossbred cows under field condition. Crossbred cows (36) were equally divided into 6 groups (control and experimental) based on lactation number, milk yield and stage of lactation. Strategic nutrient supplements (1, 2, 3, 4 and 5) were prepared with 65% of locally available bypass rich protein/amino acid supplements and 30% of the bypass fat and 5% of area specific mineral mixture (ASMM), respectively in all the supplements. Protected soybean extraction (0.9% formaldehyde treated; PS) was added as a source of bypass rich protein/amino acid supplement in supplement 1, PS and maizegluten meal (MGM) (60: 40) in supplement 2, cottonseed cake (CSC) and MGM (60:40) in supplement 3, PS, MGM and CSC (70:15:15) in supplement 4 and PS, MGM and CSC (40:40: 20) in supplement 5. The cows in control group were fed local mixed grass with supplements such as groundnut cake (GNC) and wheat bran as practiced by the farmers. Animals in experimental groups (G 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5) were fed local mixed grass with GNC, wheat bran and supplements 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, respectively @ 200g/day/animal by replacing the double the quantity of GNC in the experimental groups. There was an increase of 16, 14, 9, 10 and 2 % in 4% fat-corrected milk (FCM) yield in animals fed with limiting nutrient supplements 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, respectively when compared to control. Plasma hormonal profiles of growth hormone, insulin like growth factor 1, estradiol-17β, progesterone, triiodothyronine and thyroxine hormone were positively correlated (r=0.69; P<0.05) with milk yield in cows fed with strategic nutrient supplements (SNS). The study showed that feeding of supplements 1 and 2 in experimental groups-1 and 2 significantly (P<0.05) increased FCM yield and reduced the feed cost in medium yielding cows on local mixed grass based diets and increased the overall income of the farmers.

Nutrient utilization and methane emissions in Murrah buffalo calves fed on diets with different methanogenic potential

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the routine ingredients in ruminant feed (grains, agro-industrial byproducts and oilseed cakes) and their combinations for methanogenesis in vitro and to analyze the efficacy of least vs. most methanogenic diet formulations in Murrah buffalo calves. Methane was estimated by in vitro gas production technique. The concentrate mixtures were prepared by combining lower methanogenic ingredients from each category. Alike higher methanogenic ingredients were mixed to formulate concentrate mixtures. Six concentrate mixtures were formulated with metabolizable energy (ME) of 13MJ/kg and crude protein (CP) of 20%. Their composition is as follows: C1 (sorghum, rice bran, mustard cake-deoiled (DOMC):: 50, 10, 40), C2 (sorghum, wheat bran, DOMC:: 45, 20, 35), C3 (sorghum, wheat bran, DOMC, cotton seed cake (CSC):: 43, 15, 32, 10), C4 (sorghum, rice bran, DOMC, CSC:: 40, 15, 30, 15), C5 (maize, gram churi, soybean meal (SBM):: 30, 50, 20) and C6 (maize, wheat bran, SBM:: 37, 38, 25). Among them two lower and one higher methanogenic concentrates were chosen and Lucerne fodder was mixed to prepare three rations viz. TLM1 (treatment low methane 1), TLM2 (treatment low methane 2) and THM (treatment high methane). Evaluation of the diets in Murrah buffalo calves (BW, 132 ± 6kg) was done by SF6 tracer technique. There was no significant variation in intake, nutrient digestibility and N retention rate of the rations. Energy loss via methane was higher from THM compared to TLM1 and TLM2 fed group. The loss accounted 13.83% of digestible energy and 16.08% of metabolizable energy of THM ration. Methane loss was lowered by around 10.4% in TLM1 and TLM2 fed group compared to THM. Feed from lower methanogenic ingredients were effective in reducing percentage of dietary energy lost via methane in buffalo calves.

Effect of Feeding Cotton Seed Cake, Dried <i>Acacia saligna</i>, <i>Sesbania sesban</i> or <i>Vigna Unguiculata</i> on Growth and Carcass Parameters of Begait Sheep in North Ethiopia

The present study was designed to assess the effects of replacing cotton seed cake by Dried <i>Acacia Saligna, Sesbania Sesban</i> and <i>Vigna unguiculata</i> (cowpea) on growth and carcass characteristics of Begait sheep fed grass hay as basal diet and wheat bran as energy source. Twenty four yearling Begait male sheep with an average initial body weight of 25 ± 1.39 kg (mean ± SD) were used in randomized complete block design (RCBD) that lasted for 90 days. Treatments consisted of ad libitum feeding of natural pasture grass hay plus 200g Dry matter (DM) wheat bran and additionally supplementing with100g, 250g, 140g and 180g DM per head per day of cotton seed cake (CSC), <i>Acacia Saligna</i> (AS), <i>Sesbania Sesban</i> (SS) and Cowpea (VU) respectively, each calculated to give 67.6g CP on iso-nitrogenous basis. Lambs were categorized into six blocks of four lambs each based on their initial body weight. CSC and SS resulted in higher (P &lt; 0.05) final body weights than VU; However, the results of body weight change, average daily gain and feed conversion efficiency in CSC, AS and SS were not significantly different (P &gt; 0.05) from each other. Hot carcass weight ranged from 14 kg to 16 kg. Slaughter weight, empty body weight and dressing percentage on slaughter body weight were higher in CSC (cotton seed cake), SS (<i>S.sasban</i>) and AS (<i>A.saligna</i>) as compared to lambs supplemented with VU (cowpea) while VU was not significantly different with AS and SS, Which reflected that the supplements were comparable in their potential to supply nutrients to improve the growth and carcass parameter of sheep. Therefore dried <i>A.saligna</i> and <i>S. sesban</i> foliages can be used to replace commercial concentrate feeds as protein sources.

In Vitro Yield of Microbial-N from Fermentation of Glucogenic and Lipogenic Diets Provided by Different Sources of Rumen Degradable Amino Acids

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of different sources of rumen degradable amino acids, soybean meal versus a commercial source of hydrolyzed cottonseed cake with low molecular weight (Fortid®), on the in vitro ruminal fermentation responses and the microbial nitrogen yield of glucogenic (n=8) and lipogenic (n=8) diets. An in vitro gas production technique was used to determine the differences in microbial nitrogen yield of the diets. Sources of grain including barely and corn were used in the glucogenic diets as grinded or steam flaked, while in the lipogenic diets, corn silage, sugar beet pulp, linseed and prill fat were used to provide the energy needed for rumen fermentation. The experiment was a randomized design including two types of diets × two sources of rumen degradable amino acids factorial arrangement. The gas produced from the fermentable fraction (b) was higher for the lipogenic diets containing corn silage and F than those for the others. The fraction (b) and microbial nitrogen to diet nitrogen ratio were greater (p<0.05) for Fortid® versus soybean meal. The true substrate digestibility of glucogenic diets were significantly higher (p<0.05) compared to those of lipogenic diets. Both the grain sources used as steam flaked caused an increase in the rate of gas produced (c) and microbial nitrogen to diet nitrogen ratio. There were significant interactions (p<0.005) of the type of diets with either soybean meal or Fortid® on microbial nitrogen to diet nitrogen. The results indicated that pre-hydrolyzed protein sources which are rich in low molecular weight peptides may be considered as candidates to improve rumen feed fermentation and microbial nitrogen production with both glucogenic and lipogenic diets. This conclusion was arrived at from the different patterns of action of soybean meal and Fortid® in the present in vitro rumen fermentation responses.

1068 Gonadal and extra-gonadal sperm characteristics of rabbit bucks fed raw or fermented cottonseed cake– cased diets supplemented with ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe)

1068 Gonadal and extra-gonadal sperm characteristics of rabbit bucks fed raw or fermented cottonseed cake– cased diets supplemented with ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe)

2-Pyrrolidone synthesis from γ-aminobutyric acid produced by Lactobacillus brevis under solid-state fermentation utilizing toxic deoiled cottonseed cake

There is an increasing demand of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) as drug and food additive, as well as feedstock to produce 2-pyrrolidone, a precursor for the synthesis of nylon 4. 2-Pyrrolidone is a petrochemical and depleting reserve which raises concern for its bio-based production. The study herein describes bio-based economical GABA production from Lactobacillus brevis by solid-state fermentation (SSF) using toxic deoiled cottonseed cake (CSC) as substrate. In general, the use of cottonseed cake remains restricted due to the presence of toxic gossypols. Thus, simultaneous detoxification observed during fermentation also widens the scope of utilization of this residual seedcake for feed use vis-a-vis production of other value added chemicals. The SSF conditions were optimized for maximum GABA production, viz., 19.7mg/g, CSC of GABA was obtained at 6th day of fermentation with 70% degradation of gossypols simultaneously. The potential of this bio-based GABA as a platform chemical is demonstrated in the synthesis of 2-pyrrolidone. Thus, a simple and cost-effective strategy for utilizing toxic biomass has been developed as an alternate to chemical synthetic route.

&lt;b&gt;Effect of replacement of sugarcane by oilseed press cakes in greenhouse gases and volatile fatty acids production &lt;i&gt;in vitro

This study aimed to evaluate the production of methane, carbon dioxide, and volatile fatty acids and changes in ruminal pH in vitro with oilseed press cakes inclusion, such as, cottonseed, sunflower, castor bean, moringa and jatropha at four different levels (0, 30, 50 and 70%) in replacement to the sugarcane in ruminant feeding using semi-automated in vitro technique. The byproduct that produced less CO2 was cottonseed cake (p = 0.0059). The cakes that produced the least amount of CH4 were moringa at 70% (p < 0.05) and cottonseed at 70% levels (p < 0.0001). The cakes that had the highest increases in VFAs were cottonseed and castor (p < 0.0001). Additionally, greater pH was moringa at 70% and cottonseed at 50% levels (p < 0.0001). The greater acetate concentration was 70% cottonseed cake, propionate concentration with 30% cottonseed and butyrate concentration with 50% moringa in sugarcane replace. At the 70% level, the moringa cake displayed the highest decreases in methane production and reduction in energy loss. At the 50% substitution level, the cottonseed cake is the most suitable replacement for sugarcane in order to reduce the production of greenhouse gases.

Effects of gossypol from cottonseed cake on the blood profile in sheep.

Cottonseed cake contains gossypol, a potentially toxic compound that, when consumed by sheep, can affect reproduction, the immune system, and the liver. Changes in hematologic and serum biochemical parameters were monitored for 63days in 12 Santa Inês ewes, six of which received ration containing 400gkg(-1) of cottonseed cake. Blood samples were collected at the start of the experiment and weekly thereafter for hematologic assessment and determination of serum urea, creatinine, total protein, and albumin concentrations and for measurement of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, and γ-glutamyl transferase activities. No clinical signs of toxicity were observed. Evaluation of the erythron showed that sheep consuming cottonseed cake had an increased packed cell volume (p < 0.05) and increased erythrocyte counts and hemoglobin concentrations (p < 0.05) in the leukogram and serum biochemistry panel. In conclusion, consumption of 400gkg(-1) cottonseed cake by sheep for 63days may induce changes in the erythron but no consistent changes in serum biochemical parameters, indicating no damage to the liver or kidneys.

SUPLEMENTAÇÃO COM FONTES PROTEICAS NA TERMINAÇÃO DE NOVILHAS DE CORTE: ESTUDO BIOECONÔMICO

Resumo O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar biológica e economicamente a utilização de três fontes proteicas (farelo de soja (FS), caroço de algodão (CA) ou torta de nabo forrageiro (TN)), na formulação de suplementos (1,0% do peso corporal (PC)) na terminação de novilhas de corte em pastos de capim Marandu na estação seca. Este experimento foi realizado no município de Potirendaba, SP, e análises químicas na Universidade Estadual de Londrina, PR. A área experimental foi de seis hectares, dividida em três piquetes, cada um com seis novilhas de corte 1/2 sangue Simental, 1/2 Nelore, PC inicial de 210 ± 8,34 kg, idade de 15 ± 3 meses. Foi realizada análise econômica utilizando-se método de orçamentos parciais. O delineamento experimental foi inteiramente casualizado, com seis repetições por tratamento (n=18). Foi realizada análise de variância e as médias foram comparadas pelo teste Tukey (P&lt;0,05). Animais suplementados com TN apresentaram menor ganho de peso (FS=0,81, CA=0,76 e TN=0,40 kg/animal/dia; P&lt;0,05). Foi observada alteração negativa no rendimento líquido para os suplementos CA (US$-22,15/animal) e TN (US$-1,96/animal) em relação ao suplemento FS que, embora apresente maior valor de aquisição, mostrou-se favorável biológica e economicamente.

Reproductive Characteristics of Rabbit Bucks Fed Diet Containing Raw or Fermented Cottonseed Cake

Reproductive Characteristics of Rabbit Bucks Fed Diet Containing Raw or Fermented Cottonseed Cake

Potential of Moringa oleifera Leaf Meal as Partially Replacement of Cotton Seed Cake in Diet of Nili-Ravi Buffaloes in Semi-Arid Areas

Potential of Moringa oleifera Leaf Meal as Partially Replacement of Cotton Seed Cake in Diet of Nili-Ravi Buffaloes in Semi-Arid Areas

Optimization of Solid State Fermentation Process for Gossypol Detoxification in Heat Sterilized Cotton Seed Cake by Mixed Fungal Cultures

A solid state fermentation (SSF) process was optimized for gossypol detoxification in cottonseed cake (CSC) using mixed fungal cultures viz., Pleurotus sajor-caju with Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida tropicalis with S. cerevisiae. The effect of fermentation conditions such as initial moisture content, inoculum level, incubation temperature and period were tested for gossypol reduction in heat sterilized (HS) CSC. The results showed optimized parameters for gossypol detoxification in HS CSC were 70% moisture content, 15% inoculum level, 30° C incubation temperature and 48 h incubation period. The free gossypol (FG) detoxification rate was higher (83.6%) in P. sajor-caju with S. cerevisiae fermented HS CSC. The detoxification rate of bound gossypol (BG) was higher (63.3%) in C. tropicalis with S. cerevisiae fermented HS CSC. The maximum increase in crude protein (CP) (10.2%) and decrease in crude fibre (CF) (10.7%) was recorded in C. tropicalis with S. cerevisiae and P. sajor-caju with S. cerevisiae fermented HS CSC respectively.

Effect of Inclusion of &lt;i&gt;Albizia saman&lt;/i&gt; Pods in the Diet on the Performances of Dairy Cows

Ruminants can achieve high productivity when the diet includes concentrates; however these are often expensive due to competition with humans and mono-gastric animals. This experiment was conducted to determine the effect of partial inclusion of Albizia saman pods (ASP) in a Commercial Concentrate (CC) on the performances of dairy cows. Twelve cross-bred Holstein Friesian cows (472±13 kg) in the 12th week of lactation were randomly allocated into four treatment groups with three replicates accoding to the completely randomized design. The four treatments were control diet-CD [35% urea-treated-rice-straw (URS; 79g crude protein (CP)/ kg dry matter (DM)) and 65% CC (contained 40% cottonseed cake, 35% broken chickpea and 25% chickpea husk on an as fed basis and provided 200g CP/kg DM)], D1[35% URS + 60% CC + 5% ASP (189g CP/kg DM)], D2 (35% URS +55% CC + 10% ASP) and D3 (35% URS + 50% CC + 15% ASP). Cows were fed treatments for 60 days. Dry matter intake was significantly higher (p<0.05) for cows in the D3 treatment compared with the other three treatments, however there were no significant differences in the DM digestibility of treatments. Nitrogen intake and faecal-nitrogen of cows offered the D3 treatment were significantly higher (p<0.05) than those of cows offered the other three treatments. In contrast urine-nitrogen and nitrogen utilization were not significantly different among the treatments. The average milk yield (4% fat-corrected-milk) increased as the percentage of ASP was increased in the diets, however the composition of milk did not differ significantly between treatments. The costs of TDN/kg and per kg of milk was highest for the CD treatment and the lowest was found in D3 treatment (p<0.05). These results suggest that Albizia saman pods could be replace up to 15% of the commercial concentrate fed to lactating Holstein Friesian cross-bred cows without detrimental effects.

Removal of Yellow F3R, Di Maria Brilliant Blue R and Reactive Brilliant Red M-3BE from Aqueous Solutions by a Rapid and Efficient Ultrasound-Assisted Process with a Novel Biosorbent of Cottonseed Cake: Statistical Modeling, Kinetic and Thermodynamic Studies

Cottonseed cake as a domestic feed and a by-product of textile industry was utilized as a novel adsorbent for the decolorization of Yellow F3R (YF3R), Di Maria Brilliant Blue R (DBBR) and Reactive Brilliant Red M-3BE (Red F3B) aqueous solutions based on a rapid and efficient process of ultrasound-assisted adsorption. This study aimed to model the effects of the five factors on decolorization efficiency by response surface methodology: temperature, initial pH, reaction time, concentrations of initial dyestuff and adsorbent. A Box–Behnken design with five factors at three levels was used to set the experimental schedule. The maximum decolorization efficiency was obtained consistently at the lowest initial pH (2), the highest reaction time (30 min) and adsorbent concentration (1.5 g/L). Analysis of variance and the best-fit multiple nonlinear regression models were cross-validated (R2pred) accounting for 90.03–93.94 % of variation in decolorization efficiency. The decolorization of YF3R, DBBR and Red F3B on cottonseed cake fitted well pseudo-second-order kinetic mechanism and Langmuir isotherm and it was found to be of endothermic and spontaneous nature.

Adsorptive removal of lead(II) from an aqueous solution by chemically modified cottonseed cake

The present study explores the ability of activated carbon prepared from sulphuric acid-treated cottonseed cake (SCSC) by chemical activation with sulphuric acid for the removal of Pb(II) from an aqueous solution. Batch experiments were carried out by varying several conditions such as contact time, solution pH, adsorbent dose and temperature along with commercial activated carbon (CAC). According to the experimental results, the equilibrium time and optimal pH range were found to be 3 h and 4.0–6.0, respectively. The equilibrium data were analysed based on the Freundlich, Langmuir, Redlich–Peterson and Dubinin–Radushkevich isotherms using nonlinear regression analysis and fit well with the Langmuir model. Based on the Langmuir isotherm, the adsorption capacity was found to be 115.86 mg/g for SCSC, which was substantially (5.3 times) greater than that of CAC (21.69 mg/g) at 300 K. The thermodynamic investigations indicated that the adsorption reactions were spontaneous and exothermic in nature. The results of the kinetic study showed that the adsorption of Pb(II) could be described by the pseudo-second-order equation, suggesting that the adsorption process is presumably chemisorptions with film diffusion. A single-stage batch adsorber was designed for different adsorbent dose using the Langmuir equation.

Mycotoxin Cocktail in the Samples of Oilseed Cake from Early Maturing Cotton Varieties Associated with Cattle Feeding Problems.

Cottonseed cake in South East Asia has been associated with health issues in ruminants in the recent years. The present study was carried out to investigate the health issues associated with cottonseed cake feeding in dairy animals in Pakistan. All the cake samples were confirmed to be from early maturing cotton varieties (maturing prior to or during Monsoon). A survey of the resource persons indicated that the feeding problems with cottonseed cake appeared after 4–5 months of post-production storage. All the cake samples had heavy bacterial counts, and contaminated with over a dozen different fungal genera. Screening for toxins revealed co-contamination with toxic levels of nearly a dozen mycotoxins including aflatoxin B1 + B2 (556 to 5574 ppb), ochratoxin A + B (47 to 2335 ppb), cyclopiazonic acid (1090 to 6706 ppb), equisetin (2226 to 12672 ppb), rubrofusarin (81 to 1125), tenuazonic acid (549 to 9882 ppb), 3-nitropropionic acid (111 to 1032 ppb), and citrinin (29 to 359 ppb). Two buffalo calves in a diagnostic feed trial also showed signs of complex toxicity. These results indicate that inappropriate processing and storage of the cake, in the typical conditions of the subcontinent, could be the main contributory factors regarding the low quality of cottonseed cake.

Effect of feeding cottonseed cake on male fertility in rabbit

In order to study the effects of cottonseed cake on the fertility of the male rabbit, 60 animals (40 bucks and 20 does) were used. Males were 3 months old at the beginning of the essay, and the females were multiparous. Males were divided into 4 identical groups. Four diets containing 0, 6, 12 and 18% of cottonseed cake were formulated and randomly allotted to different groups of males. All the females received the same diet (6%). The treatment lasted for 90 days. At the end of that period, 5 males were sacrificed per lot and the rest were allowed to mate each with an untreated female before being sacrificed in turn. No significant difference (p&gt;0.05) was observed among rations for the volume of testis and weight of reproductive organs. Histological study of the testes revealed no abnormality. In the presence of an untreated female, hundred percent of rabbits realized mounting and ejaculated whichever the cottonseed cake level. Nevertheless, the volume of the ejaculate was significantly (p&gt;0.05) low in rabbit fed 6% cottonseed cake (0.86 vs 1.66, 12%). The spermatozoa concentration in the cauda epididymis was higher in rabbit given cottonseed cake than in control, although not significantly (p&gt;0.05). The adverse effects of the toxicant contained in cottonseed cake occurred at 18% inclusion. The result showed that it is not possible to generalize the upper limit of inclusion of cottonseed cake in the ration formulation.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjas.v44i1.23123 Bang. J. Anim. Sci. 2014. 44 (1): 16-20

Growth performance of Brangus steers fed graded levels of sun-dried broiler litter as a substitute for cottonseed cake.

An experiment was conducted to determine the optimum inclusion levels of dried broiler litter (DBL) as a substitute for cottonseed cake (CSC) in fattening diets for Brangus steers. Thirty Brangus steers were randomly allocated to five groups of six animals each. Each group was fed one of the experimental diets which had CSC substituted for DBL at levels of 0 (DBL0), 50 (DBL50), 100 (DBL100), 150 (DBL150) and 200 g/kg (DBL200). Average daily gain (ADG), dry matter intake and live weight gain (LWG) were measured over a period of 90 days, and the results were analysed using the MIXED procedures of SAS. Linear and quadratic effects of DBL inclusion on dry matter intake, LWG and ADG were also determined. Results showed interactions between diet and time that significantly affected ADG and LWG (p < 0.05). Both ADG and LWG decreased with increases in DBL inclusion with the depressed performance becoming more pronounced with time. Linear and non-linear decreases in LWG and ADG, respectively, were observed with increasing levels of DBL. The DBL50 diet resulted in performance that was similar to DBL50 and was 4% cheaper. Broiler litter can be used as a supplement for conventional protein sources, but at higher inclusion levels, it needs to be augmented by increased fermentable energy.