HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Aderibigbe, A. O. Articles by Church, D. C. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Aderibigbe, A. O. Articles by Church, D. C.

Feather and Hair Meals for Ruminants. I. Effect of Degree of Processing on Utilization of Feather Meal^1,2,

Oregon State University, Corvallis 97331

Abstract

In vitro pepsin-HCl digestion, in vitro rumen studies, chemical analyses and three in vivo digestion trials were conducted to study the relationship between the amount of feather meal (FM) processing (time, pressure) and utilization by ruminants and to compare specially hydrolyzed FM with cottonseed meal (CSM) as N supplements in ruminant diets. Pepsin-HCl digestion was conducted on chicken feathers hydrolyzed in the laboratory (LHF) at 1.05 kg/cm² for different times (0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, 105 and 120 min). The LHF were also used as N supplements for in vitro rumen studies in combination with Solka-floc (cellulose), urea and commercial FM. Each in vivo trial (using 20 crossbred wether lambs) was conducted to compare a high concentrate basal diet (8% crude protein, CP) with supplemented diets in which CSM (treatment 2, 14% CP) or commercial FM (treatment 3, 14% CP) supplied 50% of the N in respective diets. The commercial FM used in trials 1, 2 and 3 had 71, 78 and 78% pepsin-HCl digestibilities, respectively. Specially hydrolyzed turkey feathers (HTF) were added to the basal diet to supply 50% of the N in the diets (14% CP) of treatment 4 of each trial. The HTF had cooking times, pressures and pepsin digestibilities (PD) as follows: trial 1, 45 min at 2.46 kg/cm², 57%; trial 2, 60 min at 3.16 kg/cm², 64% and trial 3, 90 min at 3.16 kg/cm², 78%. The different degrees of processing had no effect on level of N in FM. Pepsin-HCl digestibilities of CP and dry matter (DM) increased with increasing hydrolysis time to a point and then decreased slightly. In vitro rumen DM digestibility showed a similar trend. However, in vitro rumen DM digestibility values were generally low, indicating that FM has some reticulo-rumen bypass potential. Urea addition increased utilization of FM protein. In vivo studies showed that varying the degree of processing (57 to 78% PD) did not affect utilization of FM by growing lambs. All FM tested compared favorably with CSM (per unit of N basis) as N supplements for growing lambs. Hence, FM protein appears to be digested mainly by proteolytic enzymes of the gastrointestinal tract.

¹ Tech. Paper No. 5931. Oregon Agr. Exp. Sta.

² Research support supplied by Fats and Proteins Research Foundation, Inc., Des Plaines, IL

³ Dept. of Anim. Sci., University of IFE, ILE-IFE, Oyo State, Nigeria, Africa

⁴ Dept. of Anim. Sci.