ORIGINAL PAPER
Further studies on the use of solar-dried blood meal
as a feed ingredient for poultry
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Department of Animal Science, University of Science and Technology,
Kumasi, Ghana
Publication date: 2001-01-22
J. Anim. Feed Sci. 2001;10(1):159-167
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ABSTRACT
Two studies, using broilers and laying hens, were conducted to further determine the nutritive
value of solar-dried blood meal (SDBM). In experiment 1, diets containing 0, 30, 60 and 90 g SDBM
kg-1 were fed ad libitum to 240 two-week-old broiler chickens for a period of 6 weeks. The level of
SDBM had no significant effect on feed intake, body weight gain, feed conversion efficiency, carcass
yield, or mortality. In experiment 2, 144 brown egg layers of 26 weeks of age randomly allotted into
four groups were fed diets containing 0, 15, 30 and 45 g SDBM kg-1 for 20 weeks. The inclusion of
graded levels of SDBM in layer diets positively influenced feed intake (r=0.95; P<0.05), body weight
gain, egg weight, yolk colour, and Haugh unit score. Hen-day egg production and feed conversion
efficiency were, however, unaffected. There were neither health-related problems nor deaths associated with the amount of SDBM in the diet. It is concluded that dietary SDBM up to 45 g kg-1 had a
positive effect on layer performance and that in broiler diets, partial replacement of other protein
sources (fish meal and copra cake) with SDBM is possible.
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