Effect of replacement of rice bran with cassava residue meal on the growth and reproductive performance of Luong phuong chickens

Le Hong Son, Ninh Thi Len and Dao Duc Kien

NIAH, Hanoi, Vietnam
son292061@yahoo.com

Abstract

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of replacing rice bran with cassava residue meal (CReM) in diets for Luong Phuong chickens on growth and reproductive performance. The first experiment was done on 600 growing pullets, according to a completely randomized block design with 4 treatments: CReM-0; CReM-10; CReM-20 and CReM-30, in which CReM was included at 0, 10 20 and 30% of the diet, replacing 0, 33.3, 66.6 and 100%, respectively, of the rice bran. All the diets contained 15% crude protein (CP). The pullets were fed restrictedly at a level of 90 and 95 g/head/day during 12-15 and 16-19 weeks old, respectively. From 20 to 35 weeks, the hens in all treatments were fed the same diet containing 17% CP and 2900 kcal ME/kg at 130 g/head/day. Supplementation of CReM to growing pullet diets had no effects on body weight (P>0.05) in the growing period and egg production in the 16 first weeks of lay. There was a trend towards increased feed conversion ratio (FCR) and decreased feed cost per kg gain as the level of CReM in the diets increased. The age at first egg was earliest in CReM-0, latest in CReM-30 and intermediate for CReM-10 and CReM-20. The second experiment was done on 600 laying hens, according to a completely randomized block design with 4 treatments and 3 replicates: CReM-0, CReM-5, CReM-10 and CReM-15, in which CReM was included at 0, 5, 10 and 15% of the diet, replacing 0, 33.3, 66.6 and 100%, respectively, of the rice bran. All the diets were formulated to have the same CP content (17.5%). All the laying hens were fed restrictedly at a level of 130 g/head/day. During the experimental period (29 - 46 weeks old), average egg production (hen-day %) and FCR (kg feed/10 eggs) of the hens in CReM-15 was the poorest (P<0.05), while there were no significant differences between CReM-0, CReM-5 and CReM-10. Feed cost per 10 eggs in CReM-5 was lowest (6% lower compared to CReM-0) while  CReM-15 was the most expensive (4.8% higher compared to CReM-0). There were no significant differences in egg quality parameters, such as weight, embryo and hatchability among the treatments.

Key words: Cassava residue meal, egg production, growth rate, laying hens, pullets

Introduction

The Luong phuong chicken breed was imported from China to Vietnam in 2000. This is a dual-purpose breed, developed for both meat and egg production, depending on the aim of the producers. The breed has adapted well to the climate and feeding conditions of Vietnam. Egg production after 10 months of lay is about 200 eggs (Son 2004) and the body weight of broilers at 3 months is about 2.2 kg. It is said that the quality of both the eggs and meat of the Luong phuong chicken is very good, and meets the demand of consumers.

In Vietnam, by-products such as rice bran, sweet potato vine and cassava leaves are widely available and can be used as ingredients in animal diets. Although their main characteristic is a high fibre content, they often have relatively high energy or/and protein content. In general, they are used commonly in diets for reproductive animals such as laying hens and sows, since their digestibility of fibre is better than that of younger animals. Among these feed resources, rice bran is the most dominant. Today, cassava residue, which is a by-product of cassava starch processing is also abundant. During the processing season, the bulk of this product is wasted and causes environmental pollution. Previous studies on using cassava residue as an ingredient in pig and cattle diets reported reasonable results (Len 2001; Hoa 1999 and Viet 1998). However, there is no research on using cassava residue for chickens in general and for laying hens in particular. For that reason, this study was carried out to evaluate the efficiency of replacing rice bran with cassava residue in the diet on the reproductive performance of Luong phuong chickens.

Hypothesis

·        Replacement of rice bran with cassava residue meal in diets of growing and laying Luong phuong chickens does not affect their egg production

·        Replacement of rice bran with cassava residue improves the economic efficiency in feeding Luong phuong chickens.

Materials and Methods

The study was conducted at the Research and Testing Station of Animal Feed, National Institute of Animal Husbandry.

Experiment 1: Effect of replacement of rice bran with cassava residue in diets of growing Luong phuong chickens on their growth and egg production

The study was done according to a completely randomized block design with 4 treatments and 2 replicates.  In total, 600 Luong phuong pullets at the age of 12 weeks were divided into 8 pens, with 2 pens/treatment and 75 birds/pen. The four experimental diets were: CReM-0: basal diet without cassava residue meal), CReM-10, CReM-20 and CReM-30 (diets in which cassava residue was included at levels of 10, 20 and 30% (as fed basis), respectively, as replacement for rice bran. All the diets were formulated to have the same protein level (15% CP) in accordance with recommendations for the nutrient requirements of Luong phuong pullets (Son 2004). Ingredient and chemical composition of the diets are shown in table 1.

The study lasted for 8 weeks (12-20 weeks old).  The pullets were fed a restricted  level of 90g/head/day between 12-15 weeks and 95g/day between 16-20 weeks. At the age of 20 weeks (beginning of the laying period) the birds in each pen were divided into two pens. As a result, there were 16 pens, with 4 pens / treatment. During the laying period (20 - 35 weeks old) the hens in all treatments were fed a standard diet containing 17% CP and 2900 Kcal ME/kg at a level of 130g/head/day. All the pullets were weighed in the morning before being given feed at the beginning and at the end of the growing period (12 and 20 weeks of age, respectively). Weight of eggs was measured at 33 weeks old.

Experiment 2: Effect of replacement of rice bran with cassava residue meal in diets of Luong phuong laying hens on their reproductive performance.

The study was done according to a completely randomized block design, with 4 treatments and 3 replicates. In total 600 Luong phuong laying hens at the age of 28 weeks were divided into 12 pens (50 hens per pen), with 3 pens/treatment. There were four experimental diets: CReM-0: (basal diet, without cassava residue meal), CReM-5, CReM-10 and CReM-15 (diets in which cassava residue was included at 5, 10 and 15%, respectively, as replacement for rice bran,). All the diets were formulated to be iso-nitrogenous and iso-energetic. Ingredient and chemical composition of the diets is shown in table 2.

The study lasted for 18 weeks (29-46 weeks old), during which all the laying hens were fed restrictedly at a level of 130 g/head/day. The hens were kept in an experimental house and received additional artificial lighting to provide 16 h light and 8 h dark. At the beginning and the end of the experiment, live body weight of the hens was recorded. At the age of 33-35 weeks, the eggs produced in each pen were weighed and put in an incubator to measure the proportion of fertile eggs and hatchability.

Data analysis

The data were analyzed using the GLM procedure in MINITAB program 13.0. Prices of feed ingredients at the time of the study were used to compare economic efficiency.

Results and discussion

Experiment 1: Effect of replacement of rice bran with cassava residue in diets of growing Luong phuong chickens on their growth and egg production

The effects of replacement of rice bran with cassava residue in diets of growing Luong phuong chickens on their growth performance are shown in table 3.The results show that during the growing period (12-20 weeks) replacement of rice bran with cassava residue did not affect significantly the body weight of the pullets. However, there was a trend towards an increase in feed conversion ratio (FCR) as the cassava residue level in the diets increased, except for treatment CReM-20 (33% of rice bran replaced by cassava residue). The birds in CReM-30 had 5% poorer FCR than those on diet CReM-0. Because the price of 1 kg of feed decreased as the level of cassava residue in the diets increased, feed cost per gain of the treatments with cassava residue decreased by 6.4, 7.1, and 8.4% in treatment CReM-10, CReM-20 and CReM-30, respectively. The hens in CReM-0 laid earliest (at a mean age of 132 days), followed by CREM-10, CREM-20 and CREM-30 (at 137, 137, and 139 days old, respectively). The growth rate in all treatments was similar, because of the similar concentration of nutrients in all diets and the fact that the birds were given equal amounts of feed (93 g/head/day). This result is comparable to a previous study that showed that cassava root meal can replace maize in diets for growing cockerels (Salima 1999).

The effects of replacement of rice bran with cassava residue in diets of growing Luong phuong chickens on egg production are shown in table 4.The results show that replacement of rice bran with cassava residue in the growing period did not affect egg production, feed conversion efficiency (kg feed/10eggs) and egg weight in the laying period. It can be concluded that for growing Luong phuong chickens cassava residue meal can be supplemented to diets at a level of 30% (replacement of 100% rice bran) without any effects on growth performance or egg production, and with decreased feed cost per kg gain.

Experiment 2: Effect of replacement of rice bran with cassava residue meal in diets of Luong phuong laying hens on reproductive performance.

The effect of replacement of rice bran with cassava residue meal in diets of Luong phuong laying hens on their egg production is shown in table 5. The results in table 5 and 6 show that after 4 laying months, rate of lay (hen-day production) was 56, 58, 55 and 50% for treatments CReM-0, CReM-5, CReM-10 and CReM-15, respectively. Thus, treatment CReM-15 had the lowest egg production (P=0.001) and the highest feed conversion ratio (2.60 kg feed/10 eggs), followed by treatment CReM-0 (2.33kg) and treatment CReM-10 (2.33 kg) and treatment CReM-5 (2.23kg). However, feed cost per 10 eggs was lowest for treatment CReM-5 and CReM-10 (6 and 4.0 % lower, compared to treatment CReM-0, respectively). In a previous study, Salima and Odunsi (2003) showed that brown layers maintained body weight and increased hen day egg production when fed a diet in which cassava peel replaced maize at a level of up to 75%. The decreased egg production in CReM-15 could be due to an inbalance of the ratio between lysine and methionine + cystine in this diet.

The effect of replacement of rice bran with cassava residue meal in diets of Luong phuong laying hens on body weight of the hens and egg quality is shown in table 6. The results show that although there were differences in egg production and feed conversion ratio, egg quality characteristics were not different among treatments. The percentage of fertile eggs in all treatments was around 90%, and of hatched chicks about 81%. The egg weight was similar among treatments (around 53g). It can be concluded that replacement of 33.3 and 66.6% of rice bran with cassava residue meal in the diet did not affect egg productivity and egg quality of Luong phuong layers, but reduced feed cost per10 eggs by 6 and 4%, respectively.

Conclusions

·        Replacement of up to 100% of rice bran with cassava residue meal in grower diets for  Luong Phuong pullets and hens did not affect weight gain between 12-20 weeks old, or egg production and egg weight between 20-35 weeks old, but decreased feed cost per kg gain of pullets.

·        Replacement of 33.3 and 66.6 % of rice bran with cassava residue meal in the layer diet did not affect egg productivity and egg quality of Luong phuong layers, but reduced feed cost per10 eggs.

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida-SAREC) through the Mekong Basin Animal Research Network (MEKARN) project for financial support of the present study.

References

Hoa N T 1999: Studies of preserving and using efficiently cassava residue as animal feed resource. Workshop of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam on Animal Sciences held in Hue, Vietnam, June 1999 (in Vietnamese).

Len N T 2001: Evaluation of chicken manure and cassava residue as feed for fattening F1 pigs under village conditions in North Vietnam. MSc thesis. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.

Salima R I 1999: The use of two empirical methods of practical potential of cassava peels meal for substitution of feedstuffs: Parboiled cassava peel growing and growing-finishing pigs in sub-humid meal versus maize in the diets of growing tropics. Nigerian Journal of  Animal Production, 26: 78-83

Salima R I  and Odunsi A A 2003: Evaluation of Processed Cassava Peel Meals as Substitutes for Maize in the Diets of Layers. International Journal of Poultry Science 2 (2): 112-116.

Son L H, Viet T Q and Hien L T 2004: Study of dietary energy and protein levels for laying Luong phuong chickens. Scientific papers on animal production. Publishing House of Agriculture. Hanoi, Vietnam.

Viet T Q 1998: Integrating biodigester, duckweed ponds and pig fattening to utilize residue from cassava processing and to reduce environmental pollution. Unpublished.

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