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Processing Factors Affecting Degradability of Fish Meal in the Rumen

Rowett Research Institute, Bucksburn, Aberdeen AB2 9SB

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of processing methods of fish meal on the rate and extent of degradation of fish meal in the rumen. The method used to estimate degradation was based on rate of degradation of fish meals incubated in polyester bags in the rumen of sheep with adjustment for outflow rate. The largest single factor influencing degradability was the length of time the fish were stored prior to processing, which increased degradability by 14 percentage units. Addition of formaldehyde reduced degradation in samples that were processed before any storage, but it had no effect on degradation in samples that had been stored and were stale before processing. Steam drying was shown to give slightly lower degradability than hot air drying, and the pepsin digestibility of the undegraded residues was slightly higher with steam than with hot air drying. Antioxidants had no effect on the rate and extent of degradation in the fish meal samples tested. The results demonstrated that the value of fish meal as a source of undegradable protein for ruminants for digestion in the small intestine could vary by more than 50% depending on processing method.

¹ Present address: Faculty of Agr., Univ. of Mansoura, El-Mansoura, Egypt.

² Present address: Sildolje og Sildemelindustriens, Forskinings institut, Bergen, Norway.