Lower ammonia emission from poultry on high fibre diets
A new US study found that increasing the dietary fibre in the feed of laying hens reduces ammonia emissions by 40% per hen, without any adverse effects on egg production.
Researchers at the Iowa State University conducted a study involving the feeding of 246 hens one of four types of diets – one standard corn-soybean meal control diet and three experimental diets that included corn distillers dried grains with soluables (DDGS).
According to Kristjan Bregendahl, assistant professor of poultry nutrition at Iowa State, all three fibre diets resulted in lower ammonia emissions.
The hens on the high fibre diets did not excrete more manure than hens fed the control diet, plus the egg production and egg mass were not affected. Feed consumption did increase by 2% for hens fed the corn DDGS or soybean hull diets, but the researchers found this effect can be remedied by using more accurate energy values for corn DDGS and soybean hulls.
According to Kristjan Bregendahl, assistant professor of poultry nutrition at Iowa State, all three fibre diets resulted in lower ammonia emissions.
The hens on the high fibre diets did not excrete more manure than hens fed the control diet, plus the egg production and egg mass were not affected. Feed consumption did increase by 2% for hens fed the corn DDGS or soybean hull diets, but the researchers found this effect can be remedied by using more accurate energy values for corn DDGS and soybean hulls.
Join 31,000+ subscribers
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated about all the need-to-know content in the poultry sector, three times a week.
