Response of young exotic turkeys to diets containing varying levels of flash dried cassava root pulp (CRP)

E A Adeyeye¹*, M O Raji², O A Adeyeye³, A T Amos¹, O P A Idowu³, D U Kareem¹, O T Orbugh¹ and A O Oso¹

¹ Department of Animal Nutrition, Federal University of Agriculture, P.M.B. 2240 Abeokuta, Nigeria
² Department of Animal Health and Production Technology, Oyo State College of Agriculture and Technology, P.M.B 10, Igboora
³ Agricultural Media Resources and Extension Centre (AMREC), Federal University of Agriculture, P.M.B. 2240 Abeokuta, Nigeria
* adeyeyeea@funaab.edu.ng

Abstract

A study was conducted with Ninety-six (96) four weeks old male converter turkeys to investigate their response to diets containing varying levels of CRP. The turkeys were assigned on weight equalization to four dietary treatments (CRP0, CRP5, CRP10, CRP15) CRP replacing maize. Data on growth performance indicators (feed intake, final weight, weight gain, feed conversion ratio) were taken. Data were subjected to ANOVA using SPSS. Final weight and daily weight gain were higher and similar (p<0.05) for CRP0, CRP5 and CRP10. Best (p<0.05) FCR was recorded for CRP5 and CRP10. Other growth parameters did not differ among treatment groups. It was concluded that CRP can be incorporated in the diet of young exotic turkeys up to 10% without deleterious effects on growth.

Key words: growth, performance, turkey

Introduction

In poultry production, the cost of feed and feeding is about 65-80% and the poultry industry has suffered more than any other livestock industry as a result of the problem arising from inadequate supply of feed (Leplaideur 2004). In the tropics, cereal grains constitute the main source of energy in the poultry diet (Oluyemi and Robert, 2000). In a composite ration for poultry, maize remained the chief source of energy constitutes approximately 50% of poultry ration (Ajaja et al 2002). The cost of maize has increased considerably due to competition with human food industry, increased production of biofuel and droughts in many African nations. The sudden surge in the price of maize has accelerated the need to find alternative feed resources that can partially or completely replace maize in the diets of poultry at a lower cost. Cassava is the highest supplier of carbohydrates among staple crops and can partially or completely substitute maize as an energy source in poultry diets. According to FAO, (2010) Nigeria is the largest producer of cassava, produces up to 49 million metric tons of this commodity annually. Cassava can be processed into several products such as fufu, garri, chips, flour, pellets, adhesives, alcohol and starch. Many of these products are raw materials in agribusiness sector (Iheke 2008). Efficient utilization of cassava products has been shown to reduce feed cost of poultry production. The capability of cassava meal as feed alternative for maize for the numerous classes of monogastric had been reported (Adesehinwa et al 2008). Several other studies have suggested the use of cassava as a replacement for maize in poultry diets because cassava is produced in large quantity, and it has high energy content (Morgan and Choct 2016; Broch et al 2017 and Pradyawong et al 2018).

Cassava pulp is the solid, moist by-product of cassava starch manufacture and comprises approximately 10-15% of the original root weight (Oyewole et al 2020). According to Khempaka et al. (2009) cassava pulp contains over 50% starch, very low crude protein (CP), high crude fibre (CF) and low ether extract (EE). Decreased growth performance and nutrient digestibility has been reported in broiler chickens when dried cassava pulp constituted up to 80g/kg of the birds' diet Khempaka et al (2009). Flash-dried cassava root pulp (CRP) is a by-product of cassava starch industry. According to Oyewole et al (2020) the process of starch granule-cassava pulp separation is achieved by crushing of the cells and separation of the granules from other insoluble matter. This also involved the preparatory operations of washing and peeling the roots, rasping them and straining the pulp with the addition of water for starch wash before dewatering then flash-dried.

Previous studies reported that dried cassava pulp (DCP) can be used up to 5 to 10% in broiler diets (Khempaka et al 2009; Kumsri et al 2009) and 15 to 20% in laying hen diets (Traiprugsachart et al 2009; Khempaka et al 2016) without having detrimental effects on productive performance. Utilization of CRP in the diets of poultry will reduce the negative environmental impact of the waste and overhead cost of disposing it by the factory. Moreover, cassava pulp is low in cyanide (Khempaka et al 2016) and does not provide a good substrate for aflatoxin compared to corn and groundnut cake (GNC). It is a known fact that turkeys are sensitive to aflatoxin, which is the reason why GNC is not normally used in the ration for turkeys. Their tolerance level is low when compared with chickens. It is therefore, hypothesized that employing the use of CRP will reduce the demand for maize as the main energy source in turkey diets with additional merit of reducing production cost.

Materials and Methods

Study area

The experiment was carried out at the Poultry Unit of the Directorate of University Farms (DUFARMS), Federal University of Abeokuta, Ogun-State, Nigeria. The farm is located in the tropical rainforest vegetation zone of South-Western Nigeria on latitude 7°10´ N and longitude 3°2´ E. The prevailing climate is tropical humid with an average annual rainfall of 1037 mm and a mean ambient temperature of about 34.7°C (Federal University of Abeokuta Meteorological Station).

Ethical approval

Animal Ethics Committee guidelines of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB 2014) was strictly adhered to throughout the duration of the experiment.

Sourcing of test ingredient

The test ingredient (CRP) was obtained from Psaltry industry, a starch processing industry along Maya Ado-Awaye Road, Iseyin Local government, Oyo-State, Nigeria.

Experimental diets and design

Four iso-proteinous and iso-caloric starter diets were formulated in line with the recommendation of (NRC 1994), such that CRP was included to replace maize at 0, 5, 10 and 15% levels in diets 1, 2, 3, and 4 respectively. Hence, the experiment was arranged in a completely randomized design. The gross composition of experimental diet is presented in Table 1.

Management of experimental birds

Ninety-six (96) four weeks old male converter turkeys were purchased and assigned on weight equalization basis to the four dietary treatments replicated six times with four turkeys per replicate. The experimental diets and water were given ad libitum throughout the study which lasted twenty-eight days. The birds were managed intensively on deep litter with wood shaving as bedding and all necessary vaccinations and medications were strictly observed. The experiment was arranged in a completely randomized design (CRD).

Data collection

Growth performance

Initial body weight (g/bird) was obtained before the administration of experimental treatments. Weekly live body weight was measured. Average daily weight gain per turkeys was calculated as total final body weight - total initial body weight divided by the number of turkeys in a replicate. Daily feed intake (g) was obtained as the difference between quantity of feed given the previous day and the left over and divided by the number of turkeys in a replicate. Feed: gain ratio (FGR) was calculated as the ratio of daily feed intake and daily weight gain. Daily protein intake was calculated by multiplying daily feed intake with percent protein of the diet.

Mortality was recorded as it occurred, and mortality percentage was calculated as number of dead turkeys divided by total number of turkeys stocked multiplied by 100.

Statistical analyses

Data obtained were subjected to one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) using SPSS version 20. Significant (p<0.05) means among variables were separated using Duncan's multiple range test (Duncan, 1955).

Results

The proximate composition of flash dried cassava starch pulp (Table 2), indicated that it contains minimal level of crude protein, calcium and phosphorus but moderate level of crude fibre and ether extract.

Growth performance

Results of growth performance, table 3 and figures 1-2 shows that there were quadratic trends in performance criteria of the young turkeys as maize was replaced by flash dried cassava root pulp (CRP). At the highest level of replacement of maize by CRP, the performance indices were reduced.

Figure 1. Effect of replacing maize with flash dried cassava root pulp on average daily weight gain (ADWG) of broiler chickens

Figure 2. Effect of replacing maize with flash dried cassava root pulp on Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) of broiler chickens

Discussion

Economic and growth performance

This study found that feeding starter turkeys with CRP up to 10% replacement for maize had similar AFW, ADWG and FCR when compared with the control treatment containing no CRP, but it had a reducing effect above 10%. This finding is in line with the report of Khempaka et al (2014) and Oyewole et al (2020). They reported decline in final weight, weight gain and poor FCR in broiler chickens fed high level of cassava dried pulp. Khempaka et al (2014) opined that the decline in the growth parameters of birds could be as a result of high fibre content of CRP. The amount of fibre consumed increases with increasing inclusion levels of CRP, which consequently has negative effects on nutrient utilization. Chauynarong et al (2009) also reported that the major limitation of using cassava root meal in animal feed is its low protein content and deficiency in essential amino acids. The observed decrease in the crude protein (CP) values as the level of CRP increased in the diets affirm the assertion of Chauynarong et al (2009). The non-significant effect on FI among the treatment is in contrast with the finding of Khempaka et al (2009). They reported a decline in FI of 14-35day old broilers when sun-dried cassava pulp was added at 12 and 16%. They attributed the decline in FI to increased bulkiness of the diet which limited digestive tract capacity in broilers. The disparity in these findings could be due to the method of drying. The reduction in feed cost/kg is expected because of the reduced cost of CRP when compared with maize. However, this did not amount to better revenue and gross margin from birds fed diets containing CRP probably due to poor FCR and reduced final weight which is unconnected with poor quality nutrient profile. It has been reported that CP of diets involving DCSP reduced as inclusion level increased (Chauynarong et al (2009). Crude protein is very important in the diet of turkeys for fast growth and meat accretion. In addition, Khempaka et al (2009) has reported reduced FI which was attributed to bulkiness of the diet which possess difficulty in digestion by poultry as a result of their simple stomach with limited passage time of feed. This implies that CRP can replace maize at 10% in case of scarcity of the latter.

Conclusion

In the phase of rising cost of conventional energy source (maize), flash dried cassava root pulp (CRP) can replace maize up to 10% in the diets of young turkeys without compromising final weight, weight gain and feed conversion ratio.

Acknowledgment

Psaltry starch industry, Maya Ado-Awaye Road, Iseyin, Oyo State, Nigeria is acknowledged for the provision of the flash dried cassava root pulp (CRP). Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria is appreciated for providing logistics.

Conflict of interest

The authors have no conflict of interest.

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