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Alternativeproteinsourcesforpoultry
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12Oct2015 views:2455
Alternativeproteinsourcesforpoultrydietsarenecessaryinordertoreducefarmers
dependenceontraditionalsourcesofprotein.Supply,availabilityandnutritionalvalue
aresomeofthenecessarycriteriainthesearchforsuitablealternatives.

Pigeonpeasareonealternativeproteinsourcebeingconsideredforpoultrydiets.
[Photo:Shutterstock,AnNguyen]
Thepoultrysectorplaysavitalroleinimprovingtheglobalfoodsecuritystatusof
consumers.Commercialandsmallholderpoultryenterprisesaregrowing,thereby
increasingthedemandforpoultryfeeds.Soyabeanandfishmealhavetraditionally
beenthemainproteinsourcesinpoultryfeeds,butwiththegrowthofthepoultry
sectorandtheworld'spopulation,theyarefailingtomeettheincreasingdemand.
Duetoshortagesandcostconsiderations,itisinevitablethatmoreconsiderationis
giventoalternativeproteinsupplementstobeutilisedinpoultryfeedsinthenear
future.Thehighcostandlackofavailabilityofcommercialproteinsourcesattimes,
areknownassomeofthemainlimitationsofefficientanimalproduction.Inlivestock
andpoultryproduction,feedaccountsforthelargestsinglecost,makingup
approximately6080%ofthetotalcost.
Fishmealandsoyabeanmealpricesareontherise.Forfarmersthisimpliesthat
fishmealandsoyabeanmealwillbelessaccessible.Thismakestheprospectsof
utilisingalternativesourcesofproteinfeasible,becausetheyarelocallyavailableand
easilyaccessiblethroughmostoftheyear.

Examples of alternative protein sources with their relative crude


protein, lysine and methionine values on a dry-matter basis
Crude protein

Lysine

Methionine

Housefly maggot
meal

40 - 60%

5-8,2%

1,3 - 3,7%

Silkworm pupae
from silk
production

50-80%

6-7%

2-3%

Sweet potato
(lpomoea batatas)
foliage

26,5 - 32,5%

2,3-4%

0,5-2%

Common vetch
(Vicia sativa) seeds

14,7 - 35,8%

5,7 - 5,8%

0,90%

Hempseed cake

32,30%

2,60%

(-)

Castor oil meal

38,50%

3%

1,50%

Pigeon pea
(Cajanus cajan)

10,9 - 24,2%

(-)

(-)

Rapeseed

39%

5,60%

2%

Gemaakt met Localfocus

Globalsupplyanddemand
Domesticanimalscontinuetomakesignificantcontributionstotheglobalfoodsupply
andasaresult,animalfeedshavebecomeanincreasinglycriticalcomponentofthe
integratedfoodchain.Notonlyisthedemandforlivestockproductsincreasing
markedlyduetopopulationgrowth,butfeedsuppliersalsohavetocopewith
increasingsafetyandwelfareconcerns.By2050,theworld'spopulationisestimatedto
reach9,1billion,34%higherthanwhatitistoday.
TheFoodandAgricultureOrganisation(FAO)projectsthatthetotalglobal
consumptionofmeatanddairyproductswillincreaseby102and82%respectively,
between2000and2050.Globaldemandforpoultrymeatwillincreasebyupto85%
andtherewillbeanestimated30%increaseineggproductionby2020.Ittakes16
18%andapproximately2kgofproteinofaqualityfeedtoproduceadozeneggsin
layinghensandtogain1kgbodymassinbroilersrespectively.
Poultryproductionhasbeeninadequateduetotheshortageofandsubsequenthigh
pricesofproteinsources.Apossiblewaytoreducepoultryfeedcostsisfinding
alternativestoconventionalproteinsourcesthatareinexpensive,efficientandlocally
available.Hence,thereexistsaneedtoconsideralternativesourcesofproteinforthe
animalfeedindustry.

Sustainableagriculture
Alternativeproteinsourcesareagoodidea,consideringthepredictedgrowthofthe
world'spopulationandpoultrysector.Sincethetotaldemandformeatwillprobably
doubleby2050,supplyingsuchamassiveincreaseinlivestockproductionwillrequire
moreimplementationofalternativefeedingredientstomaketheappropriatefeed
amountsmeettheneedsandsustainlivestockproduction.
Alsotakingintoconsiderationtheimplementationofthebanontheuseofmeatand
bonemeal,togetherwiththepredicteddemiseoffishmealinpoultryfeeds,thereisthe
realisationthatalargermarketwillbecreatedforalternativeproteinfeedsources.In
addition,greaterglobalconcernsforamoresustainableagriculture,withalower
environmentalimpact,arehavinganincreasinginfluenceonfarmingsystemsand
futureapproachestofoodproduction.
Hence,theneedexiststofindalternativeproteinsourcestoreducelandexpansionfor
soyabeanproductionandutilisationofanimalproteinsources,somethingwhichis
consideredtobeanuisancetohumans.Consideringpoliticalsupportisalsocrucial,as
itcontinuestohaveamajorinfluenceonproteinsupplyissuesandtheglobalrealities
oftheanimalfeedindustry.

Table 2 - Studies conducted using alternative plant protein sources


in poultry diets

Layers

Broilers

Local ducks

Broilers (2)
Created with LocalFocus

Experiment

Results

Cassava foliage

Due to palatability
problems, a limit of 5% is
suggested for layer diets.

6 or 7% duckweed

No effects were observed


on feed intake, weight
gain, feed conversion
ratio and carcass traits.
Inclusion of duckweed
reduced the feed cost.

Diet containing 20% of


dried duckweed

No effect on egg weight,


yolk weight or shell
thickness. Diets improved
feed conversion and yolk
pigmentation.

Dried sweet potato


foliage

An optimum level of 10%


has been suggested.
However, dried vines
included at up to 16% in
broiler diets have been

Significantimpact
Forinstance,encouragingtheconceptof"homeproducedproteincropping",
integratedcropmanagement,organicfarmingandnonadoptionofGMcrops,allhave
asignificantimpactonthesearchforandutilisationofalternativeproteinsources.
Table1identifiessomeexamplesofalternativeproteinsourcesandtheircrudeprotein
levels.
Variousalternativescanbeappropriateindifferentareas,takingintoaccountthe
variousmeritsthatcanbeattainedifalternativeproteinsourcesareincorporatedinto
poultryfeed.Someareasofmuchneededimprovementarewhereconventional
proteinsourcesareatlowsupplyandwhereinexpensivealternativescanbeutilisedin
awayastoreducecostsandmeetfeedspecifications.Additionally,smallholder
poultryproducerscantakeadvantageofthesealternativesandformulatesuitable
poultrydiets,thusreducingcostsandbringingthemintothemainstreamofpoultry
production.
Anotherareawherealternativescanbetakenintoconsideration,iswhereinstitutional
policieshavebannedtheuseofcertainconventionalproteinsources.Theymayaidin
alleviatingthecrisisandhencemaintainpoultryproduction.Itshouldbekeptinmind
thatenvironmentalissuesareamainconcern.Thus,insteadofexpandingforsoya
beanproduction,alternativescanaidinmaintainingpoultryproductionifincorporated
intofeeds.

Animalfeedprocessing
Firstly,anadequatealternativeproteinsubstituteshouldhaveanadequatesupply,be
readilyavailable,havethepropernutrientlevelsandbeaffordable.However,someof
thesealternativeproteinsources,especiallyplantsources,containcompoundssuch
astannins,oligosaccharidesandenzymeinhibitorsathighlevelsthatseverelyaffect
growthinpoultry.
Hence,thesecompoundshavetobetakenintoconsiderationtodetermineappropriate
inclusionlevels.Sinceprocessingtechniquessuchasheattreatmentaffectanti
nutritionalfactorsbyrenderingthemimpotent,thesecompounds(antinutritionals)are
virtuallyeliminatedasaproblem.Therefore,withsomeprocessingalternativeplant
proteinsourcesmaybecomeuseableingredients.
Therearenumerousprocessesrequiredinpreparinganimalsourcemeals,whichare
conductedinawaythatinactivatesbacteriaandmakesthemediblebypoultry,
somethingwhichalsoenforcesconsumersafety.Thecostsandeffectivenessofthese
processesalsohavetobecateredfor.Nevertheless,theutilisationofsuchfeedstuffs
demandshavingsoundknowledgeofthenutrientcompositionaswellasappropriate
inclusionlevels.

Table 3 - Studies conducted using alternative animal protein sources


in poultry diets

Broilers

Broilers (2)

Layer chicks

Created with LocalFocus

Experiment

Results

Maggot meal included at


10-50% in the diet

25% maggot meal diet


yielded better live
weights, feed intake and
daily gain when
compared to the 25% fish
meal diet in the growth
phases.

Snail meal included at


30-100% in the diet

Snail meal could replace


up to 30% of the fish
meal in the starter phase
of broilers and up to
100% in the grower stage
with an increase in
growth rate.

6 to 8% silkworm meal

Profitability, growth and


egg production increased
with 6% silkworm meal.
Could replace 20-40%
fish meal in broiler diets

Thefutureoffeed
Withinthevasttropicalbiodiversity,therearenumerousplantresourcesthatcan
partiallyreplacesoyabeansinpoultrydiets,seeTable2.Inaddition,thereexistsa
vastbaseofalternativeanimalproteinsourcesthatcanreplacefishmealatdifferent
inclusionlevelsinpoultrydiets,seeTable3.Moreresearchisrecommendedon
agronomyandthefurtherdevelopmentofalternativeandnovelproteinsupplycropping
intheshortandmediumterm.Inadditionmoremeaningfulandgreatercooperationis
advocatedbetweenpolicymakers,thefeedindustry,farmersandresearcherstobetter
deliverthefutureproteinsupplypotentialforanimalfeeds.
ThisarticleispublishedincooperationwithAFMAMatrix.Referencesavailableon
request.
P.Chisoro,DepartmentofLivestockandPastureScience,FacultyofScienceand
Agriculture,UniversityofFortHare
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