Effect of substituting fish meal with poultry by-product meal on performance of broiler chicken

A study was conducted with 360 one day-old broiler chicks to determine the effects of substituting 25, 50, 75 and 100% fish meal of starter and finisher control diets with poultry by-product meal (PBPM) on broiler performance and certain litter characteristics. Weight gain (WG), feed intake (FI) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) during 1–21 day were significantly different for birds fed on diets with various levels of PBPM (P<0.01). The birds fed on starter control diet (100% fish meal) showed superior WG and FCR compared to the birds fed PBPM containing diets. There were no significant differences among carcass weight, carcass yield and mortality per cent (up to 42d) for birds fed on dietary treatments (P>0.05). The litter moisture, pH and nitrogen content at 42d was not significantly influenced by dietary levels of PBPM in substitution with fish meal (P>0.05). It was concluded that poultry by-product meal is a satisfactory substitute for fishmeal in finisher rations but not in starter rations for broiler chicken.