Influence of sunflower meal based diets supplemented with exogenous enzyme and digestible lysine on performance, digestibility and carcass response of broiler chickens

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2008.06.008Get rights and content

Abstract

Response of broiler chickens to 2 levels of endo-1,4-β xylanase (EC 3.2.1.8) and endo-1,3-β glucanase (EC 3.2.1.6) cocktail (with and without), 3 levels of digestible lysine (8.0, 9.0 and 10.0 g kg−1 with the applicability of ideal protein concept), and 2 levels of sunflower meal (SFM; 200 and 300 g kg−1) were evaluated in the present experiment. The factorial design of 2 × 3 × 2 using 2448 one-day-old straight-run Hubbard broiler chicks was used to evaluate the effect of two levels of enzymes, 3 levels of digestible lysine and 2 levels of SFM in practical vegetable based mash diets having 11.51 MJ ME and 190 g CP kg−1 from 1 to 42 d of age. The BW gain was improved linearly (P≤0.001) with the increasing level of digestible lysine during 1–21 d and 22–42 d of age. The gain:feed was improved linearly (P≤0.001) with the increasing digestible lysine during 1–21 d and a quadratic effect of digestible lysine was noted during 1–42 d where 9.0 and 10.0 g digestible lysine kg−1 of diet responded similar for gain:feed. Enzyme supplementation at 300 g SFM kg−1 improved BW gain (P≤0.008) and gain:feed (P≤0.048) during 1–21 d. When 10.0 g digestible lysine kg−1 of diet was used at 2 levels of SFM, gain:feed was improved (P≤0.013) during 1–21 d. However, this interaction was not significant on other performance parameters either at 21 d or at 42 d of age. The enzyme supplementation decreased the feed intake (P≤0.019) by 4.67% and improved gain:feed by 5.53% (P≤0.012) during 1–42 d without affecting BW gain. The main effect of SFM was not significant for live performance or carcass response at any stage. The depression in breast weights at 42 d due to 300 g SFM or 8.0 g digestible lysine kg−1 of diet was compensated by the enzyme addition (a significant enzyme × SFM effect). No significant effect of enzyme, SFM, digestible lysine or their interactions was observed on apparent metabolizable energy of the diets. Coefficient of total tract apparent digestibility of nitrogen was improved by the addition of enzyme to 10.0 g digestible lysine kg−1 of diet or addition of digestible lysine to high SFM. The results of the present study revealed a positive response of enzyme addition in low nutrient density and high SFM diets. Moreover, digestible lysine is not suggested to be lowered than 10.0 g during 1–21 d and it may be reduced to 9.0 g kg−1 if a single diet having high level of SFM is planned to be offered during 1–42 d.

Introduction

Sunflower (Helianthus annus) is high oil-yielding seed crop, that adapts very well to a wide range of climatic and soil conditions. Sunflower meal (SFM), a by-product of sunflower oil extraction, is available in considerable quantities for use in animal feeds (Afifi, 1972, Green et al., 1987, Ibtisam et al., 1990, Klain et al., 1956, Leeson et al., 1987, Villamide and San Juan, 1998). Rad and Keshavarz (1976) reported that SFM could be included up to 175 g kg−1 of diet without adversely affecting the chick performance provided diet was supplemented with lysine. No effect on weight gain, feed consumption and gain:feed was reported when high oil sunflower seeds were included up to 200 g kg−1 of the broiler diet (Selvaraj and Purushothaman, 2004).

The use of appropriate feed enzymes offers an opportunity to overcome some of the potential limitations imposed by exclusive vegetable protein-based diets including lower digestibility of protein and starches, etc. The effect of feed grade enzyme has been reported to improve in vitro digestibility of starch and acid soluble nitrogen fraction of autoclaved high fibre sunflower seed cake (Swain and Johri, 1999a, Swain and Johri, 1999b). Similarly, Kocher et al. (2000) reported a positive effect of multi-enzyme supplementation to SFM based diets.

Broiler feed formulation based on ideal protein concept may be a better option than based on CP or total amino acid (AA). Most non-soy vegetable protein sources used in poultry diet formulations are moderate to low in lysine contents; hence supplementation with lysine is inevitable in growing broilers to ensure rapid growth and optimum efficiency of feed utilization (Corzo et al., 2006, Ahmad et al., 2007).

The SFM has 230 g insoluble NSP and 45 g soluble polysaccharides (Irish and Balnave, 1993). Kocher et al. (2000) reported 780 g insoluble, 40 g soluble and 180 g free sugars kg−1 of total fibre in SFM having 260 g CP kg−1. More specifically they reported more than 375 g arabinose and xylose kg−1 of total fibre. Other studies have also shown high acid detergent and neutral detergent fibres in SFM (Villamide and San Juan, 1998; San Juan and Villamide, 2001). Nutritionists usually avoid high fibre ingredients in poultry diets because they have low energy values. High levels of fibre also reduce the time of feed passage throughout the digestive system (Connell, 1981). Furthermore, fibre may cause abrasion of the intestinal mucosa and thus increase the AA requirements of the synthesis of mucosa cells (Parsons et al., 1983).

In countries where soybean meal (SBM) is not cultivated, the SFM may be an economical feed ingredient for poultry diets. High fibre contents and high supplementation cost of crystalline lysine are the main hurdles of its use in broiler diets. With the increase in feed prices, there is a general trend to formulate diets to meet specifically the requirements of the birds without offering extra nutrients. Thus, most commercial feed mill and integrators are switching to low nutrient concentration diets for economical broiler production. The study therefore, was conducted to evaluate the exogenous enzyme supplementation and three AA concentration in low nutrient density broiler diets having high SFM. The ultimate objective of the study was to provide cushion in formulation to cope with the increasing ingredient prices.

Section snippets

Bird husbandry

A total of 2448 one-day-old straight-run Hubbard broiler chicks were obtained from a local hatchery and were randomly allotted to one of 48 floor pens (51 birds in each replicate) with rice straw as bedding material over a concrete floor. A floor space of 0.074 m2 (0.80 feet2) per bird was allowed in an open sided house with sidewall curtains. Each pen was equipped with a separate tube feeder and a manual drinker. On 11 d, the tube feeders were replaced with round bottom feeders. The manual

Results

The analyzed nutrient composition is presented in Table 2. The aflatoxin contents ranged from 44 to 63 μg kg−1 (Table 2). The analyzed enzyme activity was 3.91 μmol min−1 mg−1 for xylanase (1955 IU kg−1 diet).

Discussion

Although a substantial amount of fibre is needed for normal digestive function but still high fibre ingredients are avoided in poultry diets mainly because of their low energy values. The acceptable range of dietary CF is 45–55 g kg−1 in practical broiler diets. The crude fibre of SFM, depending on the extent of dehulling, appears to be the most crucial aspect in chicks’ diets (Senkoylu and Dale, 2006). An inclusion level of 300 g SFM kg−1 in the experimental diets led to high dietary crude fibre

Conclusions

Enzyme supplementation has a pronounced effect in low nutrient concentration and high SFM diets. The digestible lysine may not be reduced below than 10.0 g during 1–21 d but it could be reduced to 9.0 g kg−1 diet if a single diet is fed during 1–42 d when diets have substantially high SFM.

Acknowledgements

The study was funded by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan under title “Merit Scholarship for PhD Studies in Science and Technology”. Appreciation is expressed to Sadiq Brothers Poultry, Islamabad, Pakistan for providing material support to this study. The authors are grateful to Dr. Mahr-un-Nisa for his support during the course of studies.

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