Evaluation of physico-chemical characteristics of locally available broken rice as feed ingredients for poultry

Abstract

The increased price for maize forced domestic farmers to search for a novel type of ingredient as an energy source and the utilization of locally available broken rice is observed as a replacement to maize. Most importantly, feed cost accounts for up to 70% of the total cost. Any mistake in the formulation can negatively affect poultry production and profit. The performance of compounded feed is a contribution from different raw materials. An understanding of the Physico chemical properties of feed ingredients is important since these influence the performance of chicken. Hence, this study investigated bulk density, ash content, foreign matter content, grades of broken rice, crude protein and gross energy content of broken rice types sudu kekulu, red peacock and parboiled rice with laboratory analysis. The study found that bulk density, ash content, crude protein and gross energy content were not significantly different (P<0.05) between broken rice types indicating that three broken rice types are similar in these characteristics. Gross energy and crude protein content are the two most important parameters investigated when considering the replacement to maize grain. Mean crude protein and gross energy values of broken rice types were 9.36% and 15.91 MJ/Kg respectively. Based on the findings of the study, it is concluded that maize grain can be replaced with the domestically available broken rice types when considering their crude protein and gross content. However, it is suggested to conduct a feeding trial with a feed formulated with locally available broken rice types to investigate the production performance of poultry.