Production performance of layer chicken fed diets containing sugarcane press residue

A twelve week feeding trial was conducted to investigate the effect of inclusion of sugarcane press residue (SPR) as a source of feed ingredient in the diets of layers. Three iso-nitrogenous and iso-caloric experimental diets were formulated by incorporating 0, 5 and 10 per cent SPR to meet the organic and inorganic nutrients requirements. Further, each diet was supplemented with lipid utilizing agents (lipase and lecithin) or NSP degrading enzymes or together to result in another set of 8 test diets. Each diet was offered to triplicate groups of 4 laying hens (42 wk old, white leg horn) each. The results revealed a significant (P<0.05) difference in cumulative egg production (77.1 to 84.5%), feed consumption (116.2 to 118.5 g/bird) and egg weight (58.51 to 60.07 g) among various treatments however, body weight changes remained statistically similar. The main factors, SPR level (0, 5 and 10%) and biotechnological supplements showed a significant differences (P<0.01) among different groups for all the production parameters excepting egg weight. As a general trend, the increased level of SPR in diets decreased performance of layers and none of the supplements proved to be effective in improving the nutritive value of SPR. Thus the inclusion of SPR at higher levels in layers is not economically feasible.