BIOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF EARTHWORM MEAL AS A REPLACEMENT OF FISHMEAL IN COMMERCIAL BROILER DIETS
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Date
2011-08-06
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CSKHPKV, Palampur
Abstract
ABSTRACT
In the present scenario, poultry farming is becoming expensive day by day, mainly because
of the increasing cost of the feed which alone accounts for about 70 percent of the
expenditure incurred on poultry rearing.
The present investigation was undertaken with the objective of exploring feasibility of
replacing fishmeal with the earthworm meal in the diets of commercial broilers along with
calculation of the cost benefit ratio of the broiler production. To achieve this, 500 day-old
broiler chicks were divided into 5 groups and in each group fishmeal were replaced with
the earthworm meal at 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 percent levels. Growth characteristics, some
parameters of blood plasma viz. calcium, phosphorus and cholesterol, chemical
composition of meat, dry matter and nutrient digestibility and liveability percentage were
studied. Broilers assigned to groups getting 100 percent earthworm meal as a replacement
of fishmeal performed significantly better in terms of gain in live weight (13.36 percent
compared to control) and FCR (2.17). Dressing percentage (66.03 %) was also found to be
significantly better in the treatment group containing 100 percent earthworm meal. Further,
the cost of feed and the total expenditure/kg gain in live weight) got reduced progressively
as the level of earthworm meal was increased successively at different levels in the diets of
the birds. As a result more profit/kg gain in live weight (12.10 % as compared to control in
treatment group containing 100 percent earthworm meal ) was earned at each stage of
substitution of fishmeal with the earthworm meal.
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