Department of Animal Nutrition, Ranchi Veterinary College, Birsa Agricultural University, Kanke-834006 (Jharkhand), India
*Corresponding author E-mail: subodh_rvc@yahoo.com
Online published on 17 September, 2013.
An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of non-starch polysaccharides (NSP) hydrolysing enzymes on replacement of groundnut cake with okara meal on protein basis in broiler birds. Day-old broiler chicks (n=220) were randomly divided into five equal groups (T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5) which were further subdivided into four replicates of 11 chicks. T1 chicks fed basal diet whereas in diets of T2, T3, T4 and T5, GNC was replaced by okara meal in the concentrate @ 25, 50, 25 and 50 per cent, respectively. In addition to replacement of GNC, T4 and T5 chicks were additionally fed NSP degrading enzyme @ 50 g per 100 kg feed. The average total feed consumption (g) of six weeks was 3948, 4089, 4415, 4381 and 4729 in T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5 group, respectively. The average intake of nitrogen (g/day) in group T3 was significantly (P<0.01) higher than the other groups. However, N balance was positive and did not differ significantly (P>0.05) among the groups. A significant depression in Ca and P retention was observed in NSP supplemented chicks than the control, T1 and T2 broilers. Supplementation of NSP degrading enzyme has shown numerical improvement in T5 group than T4. Daily feed and metabolizable energy intake did not differ significantly (P>0.05) in different groups. However, T3 group birds had higher CP intake (P<0.05) than the other groups. The average daily intake of feed, CP and ME were optimum in all the groups showing that replacement of GNC with Okara meal up to 50 per cent level had no effect on nutrient utilization and growth rate in the broilers. However, supplementation of NSP @ 25 and 50 g per kg feed negatively influenced Ca and P retention in the broilers.
Groundnut cake, Okara meal, NSP hydrolyzing enzyme, Broilers
