Wheat Offal Research Articles

A simple approach to recycle broiler litter as animal feed

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<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<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.

Efficacy of supplementary enzymes on in vitro digestibility of various ratios of maize with wheat offal

The basic experimental diets were 4 x 5 factorial combinations of the inclusion levels of wheat offal at the expense of maize in the control diet with different enzymes. Basically the control diet had 100% of maize while in other diets 25, 50, 75 or 100% of maize was replaced with wheat offal. Each of these was replicated thrice and undertaken in the presence of no enzyme, with different types of enzymes at the recommended level or a combination of different types of enzymes. Thus were a total of 60 treatment samples and then the in vitro digestibility trial was carried out. The results showed that increase in the level of wheat offal at the expense of maize without enzyme supplementation caused significant decrease in nutrient digestibility (P<0.05). However, inclusion of fungal or bacterial enzyme and their combinations improved nutrient digestibilities in vitro (P< 0.05).

Enhancement of the feeding value of wheat offal for broiler feeding after its solid state fermentation with Aspergillus niger

The objective of this study was to investigate the changes in in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) of wheat offal (WTO) after its biodegradation with Aspergillus niger and also to determine the effect of degraded WTO on the performance parameters of broiler birds at starter and finisher phases. A. niger was used for the biodegradation of WTO. There were five dietary treatments of 33 birds each. Having degraded the WTO, it was observed that there was improvement in crude protein value from 2.43 g/100 gDM to 4.00 g/100 gDM (39.25% improvement). The crude fibre had 28.02% reduction after the degradation. At the starter phase, body weight gain was significantly (P 0.05) lower in birds placed on DWTO. The relative cost benefit (RCB) showed that economically, the birds placed on DWTO gave better profit margin than the ones placed on the undegraded wheat offal (UWTO). The results revealed that A. niger was able to enhance better availability of energy, crude protein and other nutrients which were hitherto encapsulated in the undegraded WTO. Key words: Wheat offal, Aspergillus niger, biodegradation, broiler birds.

Determining the optimum combination of palm kernel cake and wheat offal as maintaining ration for matured grasscutters (&lt;i&gt;Thryonomus swinderianus&lt;/i&gt;)

Twenty (20) female grasscutters at 14 months of age were used for the study, which lasted for ten (10) weeks. The grasscutters were separated into five groups of 4 grasscutters each and fed five (5) diets, which differed in their levels of replacement of wheat offal at 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% levels with palm kernel cake. Elephant grass and water were served ad libitum. All data were subjected to the analysis of variance. The results showed that forage intake was significantly (P&lt;0.05) higher on the 100% (i.e. no replacement) wheat diet than on other diets. Concentrate (diet) intake and total feed intake were not significantly (P&gt;0.05) affected by the level of replacement of wheat offal with palm kernel cake. The average daily weight gain was significantly (P&lt;0.05) higher among grasscutters fed the 50% replacement diet than among those fed other diets. The results suggest that the synergistic effect of the biological values of wheat offal and palm kernel cake was significantly (P&lt;0.05) higher at the 50% replacement level than at other levels.

By-Products as Protein Source for Lactating Grasscutters

The potential of grasscutters (Thryonomys swinderianus temminck) as a source of animal protein can be exploited with better understanding of its nutrient requirement. An experiment was conducted to determine the protein requirement of lactating grasscutters fed agro-industrial by-products namely; wheat offal and soybean meal. Sixteen 13 months old lactating grasscutters, in groups of four, were randomly allotted to four treatment diets formulated to respectively supply 10, 14, 18 and 22% crude protein (CP). Performance in respect of weight of does at end of lactation, daily weight gain of pups, daily weight gain of doe and litter, weaning weight of pups, feed conversion ratio, and cost to gain ratio, were significantly (P<0.05) higher on the 22% CP diet. The daily weight loss of does and percentage mortality among pups were significantly lower on the 22% CP diet. Though the percentage mortality among pups was significantly (P<0.05) higher, the litter size weaned was significantly (P<0.05) higher on the 18% diet. Given the overall economic importance of low mortality rate in the expansion of farm animal populations and profitability thereof, these results suggest that 22% is the optimum crude protein level for lactating grasscutters, when industrial by-products, soybean meal and wheat offal, are used as dietary supplements.

Performance and Energy Requirements of Gestating Grasscutters Fed Agro-Industrial By-Products

The grasscutter (Thryonomys swinderianus) is a large herbivorous rodent of the grasslands of Sub-Sahara Africa. It is an important source of much-needed animal protein; and holds promise as an acceptable ‘bushmeat’ substitute for the hunted and endangered wildlife animal species of West Africa. The intensive production of the grasscutter would require the supply of inexpensive and adequate dietary nutrients. Energy requirement was determined using sixteen 8-months old gestating grasscutters. The grasscutters were separated into four groups and fed diets, which differed in their energy contents of 2000, 2200, 2400, and 2600 kilocalories metabolizable energy per kilogram (Kcal ME/kg). The test diets had the same crude protein (CP) level of 18%. The results showed that total feed intake was significantly (P<0.05) higher on the 2200 kcal ME/kg diet than on other diets. Weight gain was highest on the 2200 kcalME/kg diet. Average litter size was significantly (P<0.05) higher on the 2200 kcalME/kg and 2400 kcal ME/kg diets. The average birth weight of grasscutter pups was significantly (P<0.05) higher on the 2200 kcalME/kg and 2600 kcalME/kg diets. Taken together, growth and reproductive performance of gestating grasscutters was superior, on the 2200 kcalME/kg diet, to performance on other diets. The results of this study suggest that agro-industrial by-products, soybean and wheat offal in cassava-based diets, can effectively be used at dietary energy level of 2200 kcalME/kg, to rear gestating grasscutters. It is, therefore, concluded that the optimum dietary energy requirement of gestating grasscutters is 2200 kcal ME/kg.

Performance of Growing Grasscutters on Different Fibre Sources

Grasscutter meat constitutes an important source of much-needed animal protein. The grasscutter (Thryonomys swinderianus) is a wild herbivorous rodent found in the grasslands of Sub-Sahara Africa. It subsists mainly on grass and can digest almost any form of edible greenstuff. Intensive grasscutter production aims at achieving higher levels of DM intake through various vegetative and concentrate supplements to basal diet. The 15 weeks experiment evaluated the performance of twenty four (24) 13 weeks old growing grasscutters, allotted to four treatment groups of six animals each, which were fed diets containing four different fibre sources namely; wheat offal, palm kernel cake, maize sievates and a combination of equal amounts of all the fibre feedstuffs. The experiment involved two replicates per treatment and three growing grasscutters per replicate in a Completely Randomized Design. All the data was subjected to the analysis of variance. The performance of grasscutters, in respect of forage intake, concentrate intake, total feed intake and cost of feeding, was significantly (p<0.05) higher on the maize sievates than on other diets, while the rate of attainment of puberty was significantly (p<0.05) higher on the palm kernel cake than on other diets. These findings suggest that the performance of growing grasscutters was best on the palm kernel cake diet. Palm kernel cake can, therefore, be used as the preferred source of fibre for feeding growing grasscutters.

Effects of Roxazyme G® and Maxigrain® on Performance, Egg Quality, Cost-Benefit and Haematological Parameters of Laying Hens Fed Wheat Offal, Corn Bran and Brewery Dry Grain Diets

Effects of Roxazyme G® and Maxigrain® on Performance, Egg Quality, Cost-Benefit and Haematological Parameters of Laying Hens Fed Wheat Offal, Corn Bran and Brewery Dry Grain Diets

Evaluation of biscuit waste meal and Leucaena leucocephala leaf hay as sources of protein and energy for fattening yankassa rams

A total of twenty apparently healthy Yankassa rams, 9 to 11 months of age and weighing 11.83 to 12.50 kg were used in a completely randomized design unpinning to determine the effect of partial and total replacement of maize and wheat offal with Biscuit Waste Meal (BWM) and Leucaena leucocephala leaf hay (Llh) as a source of protein and energy. The animals were assigned to five groups of four rams per group, balanced for weight and used in the trial that lasted for 84 days. BMW and Llh mixture was used to replace maize and wheat offal mixture at 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% in formulated diets. Dry matter intake, crude protein intake and daily weight gain were all significantly (P 0.05) influenced by dietary treatments. However, dry matter intake followed the same pattern as crude protein intake while crude fibre intake increased (P<0.05) with higher inclusion levels of the test mixture. In addition, the values obtained for wholesale cuts in terms of the shoulder, the rack, the breast shank and flank and the loin as percentage of carcass weight were significantly (P<0.05) affected. This could be attributed to feed conversation (feed: gain) ratio. Based on the performance of the animals, it was concluded that BWM and Llh mixture could be used as a potential source of protein and energy for fattening small ruminant. Key words: Evaluation, fattening, biscuit waste, Leucaena leucocephala, yankassa ram.

Effect of three different fibre sources on the breeder rabbits’ performance during gestation and lactation period

A study was conducted to evaluate the reproductive performance of rabbits fed diets containing three different cereal by-products as fibre sources. Wheat offal, maize offal and brewers dried grain were used to formulate the experimental diet and designated as D1, D2 and D3, respectively. Fifteen (15) sexually matured mixed bred rabbits comprising 12 does and 3 bucks, with average body weight range of 1850.0 to 2020.0g, were assigned to three treatment groups of 4 does to 1 buck. Each group was assigned to one of the experimental diets in a completely randomized design. The rabbits were housed individually in a double tier hutch throughout the experimental period of 6 months. Litter traits did not differ (P>0.05) between the treatment groups. Average weekly body weights during gestation differed (P

A simple technology for production of vegetable-carried blood or rumen fluid meals from abattoir wastes

The study was designed to develop simpler and quicker processing methods for converting major abattoir wastes ( i.e., blood and rumen contents) into blood meal and related products using vegetable carriers of milling (wheat offal (WO) and maize offal (MO)), brewery (brewers’ dried grains (BDG)), and abattoir (dewatered rumen contents (RC)) processes as absorbents. Vegetable-carried blood or rumen fluid meals were obtained by absorbing cattle blood that had been prevented from coagulating, or rumen fluid from rumen contents after dewatering, or a blood and rumen fluid mixture with each of the vegetable carriers before sun drying and milling. Fourteen products obtained were in four categories being: vegetable carriers with blood absorbed once or twice comprising brewers’ dried grains blood meals 1 and 2 (BB1 and BB2), maize offal blood meals 1 and 2 (MB1 and MB2), wheat offal blood meals 1 and 2 (WB1 and WB2), and dewatered rumen contents blood meals 1 and 2 (RB1 and RB2). Another was vegetable carriers with rumen fluid absorbed once comprising brewers’ dried grains rumen fluid meal (BRF), maize offal rumen fluid meal (MRF) and wheat offal rumen fluid meal (WRF). The last was vegetable carriers with a blood and rumen fluid mixture absorbed once comprising brewers’ dried grains rumen fluid and blood meal (BFB), maize offal rumen fluid and blood meal (MFB), and wheat offal rumen fluid and blood meal (WFB). The products were sun-dried for 2–4 h to moisture contents of 60–110 g/kg. Chemical composition of the products indicated a good potential nutritional quality. Gross energy and crude protein concentration ranges were approximately 17–20 MJ/kg dry matter (DM) and 132–530 g/kg DM, respectively. However, fibre concentrations were relatively high (120–320 g acid detergent fibre/kg DM) for most of the products and mineral concentrations were marginal. The low technology procedure developed used simple tools amenable to micro-, small- and medium-scale applications to convert of blood and rumen contents to potential animal feeds.

Supplemental value of avizyme in diets of rabbits containing graded levels of wheat offal

Growth performance, nutrient retention and hematological parameters of rabbits fed graded levels of wheat offal supplemented with Avizyme were studied. A total of 24, 9-week old New Zealand rabbits were fed for 49 days (7 weeks) on four experimental diets. Avizyme was added at the rate of 1 g kg-1 of wheat offal based diets containing 30, 40 and 50% of the wheat offal. The basal diet (without Avizyme supplementation) served as the control treatment. The results of the study indicated significant differences (p

Comparative carcass characteristics of indigenous turkey poults fed different agro-industrial by-products

This work was undertaken to evaluate the effect of three agro-industrial by-products on the carcass characteristics of indigenous turkey poults. Sixty indigenous poults were brooded and fed broiler starter feed for the first 4 weeks of life. At the end of 4 weeks, forty-eight poults were randomly selected and distributed into four treatment diets. Each dietary treatment had twelve poults with six poults per replicate. The experiment lasted ten weeks. The result showed that poults fed palm kernel meal had significantly (P&lt;0.05) higher body weight (3175.0g) when compared with others (Diet 1 = 2275.0g, Diet 2 = 2425.0g, and Diet 3 = 2625.0g). This same pattern was noticed in the mean dressed weight though not significant. The cut-parts showed no significant (P&gt;0.05) difference and followed no definite pattern. The replacement of 40% of maize with palm kernel meal in turkey poult's grower ration proved more advantageous than replacement with wheat offal, rice husk and the control diet. Key words: Turkey poults, carcass characteristics and agro-industrial by-products

Effect of supplemental feeding combinations on the performance of west african dwarf (wad) goats

Eight young West African Dwarf (WAD) goats of relatively the same age (about 11 months), weighing 8 – 10 kg each were used in this study to determine the effect of supplemental feeding on WAD goats using grass mixtures of Panicum maximum, Pennisetum purpureum and Andropogongayanus at equal ratio. These were supplemented at 1:1 ratio with palm kernel cake (PKC), brewers grain (BG), wheat offal (WO) to produce diets A, B and C respectively, while Diet D served as control, containing only the three grass mixtures at equal ratio. The animals were fed ad libitumduring the experimental period of 10 weeks. The quantity of feed consumed each day was noted and weight observations made on the animals biweekly. The body weight observation on the WAD goats due to the effect of the diets showed that there were significant differences (p

Performance Characteristics And Nutrient Utilization Of Growing Yankassa Rams Fed Varying Levels Of Corn Cobs Treated With Fermented Poultry Droppings

Sixteen growing Yankassa rams, aged 11-13 months and weighing between 14.50 and 14.75kg were fed for 84days on diets containing poultry dropping treated corn cobs fermented with water. The fermented cobs were included at 0%, 33%, 67%, and 100% at the expense of maize and wheat offal on the diets Co, C33, C67, and C100 respectively. Feed intake values varied significantly (P

THE EFFECT OF PROBIOTICS SUPPLEMENTATION ON THE GROWTH PERFORMANCE OF TWO STRAINS OF COCKERELS

In a 2 × 3 factorial design, two hundred and seven 3 weeks old black (Bovan Nera) and white (Gold line) cockerels were randomly assigned to three dietary treatments. The basal diet was based on maize, soybean meal, groundnut cake and wheat offal. Probiotics replaced the wheat offal in Diets I, II and III in proportion of 0, 0.05 and 0.1%. Probiotics contained Lactobacillus acidophilus, Saccharomyces cerevisae and Saccharomyces boulardii. Each diet was offered to 3 pens of 12 black cockerels each or 3 pens of 11 white cockerels each. Starting chicken of both strains responded non-significantly to increasing probiotics concentration in feed intake, body weight gain, and feed/gain ratio. A nonsignificant interaction occurred between strain and dietary probiotics concentration for all response criteria. The slope of regression of body weight changes depending on age was higher for white than black.

Anti-Microbial Resistance Profile Of Escherichia Coli Isolates From Commercial Poultry Feeds And Feed Raw Materials

Information on the level to which commercial feeds and feed raw materials are involved in the dissemination of anti-microbial resistant pathogenic and commensal bacteria in Nigeria is necessary for feed and stock management. Forty four Escherichia coli isolates from 4 commercial feed brands coded SF, GF, TF and ACF and from 90 various feed raw materials such, fish meal (FM), maize (MA), maize offal (MO), wheat offal (WO), spent grain (SG), blood meal (BM) and soybean meal (SM) etc were screened for anti-microbial resistance profile against 10 antibiotics using the disc diffusion method. Overall, the isolates recorded 80.8 % resistance to cefuroxime, 76.9 % to nalidixic acid, 75 % to ampicillin, and 59.6 % to cotrimoxazole while very low 7.7 % was recorded for tetracycline and 5.8 % for gentamycin, ciprofloxacin and chloramphenicol. Across commercial feed brands, isolates from SF were resistant to nitrofurantoin (100 %), nalidixic acid (50 %) and ampicillin (70 %), while those from TF, GF and ACF were resistant to 7, 6 and 5 antibiotics respectively. Resistance against ampicillin, nalidixic acid and cefuroxime, in isolates from SG, palm kernel cake (PK), MO and WO were high. Organisms isolated from SG and PK recorded high resistance against cefuroxime and cotrimoxazole. Isolates from bone/limestone (B/L) registered 100 % resistance against ampicillin, cotrimoxazole and cefuroxime, while those from maize MA recorded 100 % resistance to cefuroxime and norfloxacin, and over 70 % to nalidixic acid. Soybean meal isolates values for nitrofurantoin, tetracycline, nalidixic acid and ampicillin were high but below 80 %. Thirty fives resistance patterns were observed; with the CF-NB-CO-NA-AM pattern being the most predominant (occurring 10 times). The present data shows that commercial feeds and feed raw materials are important vehicles for the introduction of multi-drug resistance encoding E coli into poultry.

An analysis of the cost effectiveness of replacing maize with wheat offal in broiler finisher diets

Increasing the level of inclusion of agro-industrial by-products in poultry diets formulation that will not adversely affect growth performance but enhancing feed cost reduction have been the major concern of researchers. In this study the cost effectiveness of using wheat offal to replace maize at 0, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 percent levels in broiler finisher diets was assessed. The result indicates that, wheat offal can replace maize in broiler finisher diets at 25 percent level without adversely affecting growth performance. At this level of wheat offal inclusion, feed cost per ton would be reduced by about 13.2% of the cost of the control diet. That is, for every ton of broiler finisher produced, about N5,010.00 would be saved when 25 per cent of wheat offal replaces maize. Therefore replacing maize with wheat offal at this level is very cost effective. Keywords: Broiler, cost-effectiveness, finisher diet, wheat offalJOAFSS Vol. 4 (1) 2006: pp. 32-36

Effect of Feeding Graded Levels of Tigernut (Cyperus esculentus) Seed Meal on the Performance Characteristics of West African Dwarf Goat

The efficacy of Tigernut seed meal in the diet of West African Dwarf (WAD) goats was evaluated in a completely randomized design model for a 56 day period. The diets consist of A (control, without Tigernut seed meal), B (10% Tigernut seed meal plus 28% wheat offal) and C (20% Tigernut seed meal plus 18% wheat offal). Other ingredients are of fixed percentages. The results revealed increasing crude protein and acid detergent fibre contents as the Tigernut seed meal increased. The intakes of the two components (crude protein and acid detergent fibre) were significantly higher in diet C compared to other diets However, the crude protein digestibility was similar in all the diets while the acid detergent fibre digestibility of th e Tigernut seed meal based diet was superior (p 0.05). Animals on Tigernut seed meal based diet gained more weight than those on diet A (control) due probably to higher feed efficiency of these diets (B and C). In conclusion, a Tigernut seed meal could form part of the complete diet, supplying both protein and energy supplements in the diet of ruminant animals.

EFFECT OF THE REPLACEMENT OF MAIZE WITH WHEAT OFFAL IN BROILER FINISHER DIETS ON GROWTH PERFORMANCE AND FEED COST

An experiment was carried out to assess the effect of replacing maize with wheat offal in broiler finisher diets on bird performance and feed cost. Six rations were formulated using 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 percent wheat offal to replace maize in the rations. The formulated rations were fed to one hundred and fifty six commercial broiler finisher birds in a completely randomized experimental design. All the rations were made isocaloric and isonitrogenous with the inclusion of varying levels of palm oil. The results indicated that there were no significant differences (P > 0.05) in body weight, body weight gain, feed intake and efficiency of feed utilization and carcass characteristics amongst the treatment means. However, wheat offal replaced maize for up to 25 percent without any adverse effect on performance. More so, at 25 percent inclusion to replace maize, cost of feed per kilogram was reduced by about 15.91 percent. Such feed cost reduction could engender overall production cost reduction in broiler production especially at the finisher stage.