Improving vegetable protein diets for broiler chickens

Abstract

This project was conducted with a view to assess the potential and to improve vegetable protein (VP) diets for broiler chickens. Productivity, litter quality, meat yield characteristics, visceral organ development, leg bone development, energy utilization, dietary manipulation strategies, and feed selection were investigated in order to determine the nutritive value of these diets for broiler chickens. In this regard, biological trials were conducted on male Cobb 500 and Ross 308 broiler chicks from day-old to 21 or 35d of ages in each case. All feed was provided to the birds ad libitum in cold-pelleted form, and each experiment was conducted in environmentally controlled housing. ... The results generally showed that plant protein quality can be enhanced by dietary supplementation with microbial enzymes. Sources of vegetable protein for non-ruminant animal feeds are numerous and varied, with considerable opportunities for further diversifications and substitutions. More research is needed on alternative sources of protein for optimum and economic poultry production before many of the opportunities can be exploited in practice.