Two broiler growth and two quail breeder studies were conducted to evaluate the dietary potential of dates, date meat, and date pits. The test ingredients were incorporated in broiler starting diets at levels ranging from 8 to 43% dates, 16 to 43% date meat, and 5 to 27% date pits. The quail breeder diet had ingredient ranges of 10 to 30% dates, 8 to 24% date meat, and 5 to 15% date pits. The date ingredient diets supported broiler weights and feed conversions comparable to or better than the control diet. Quail breeder feed consumption decreased at the 30% date level; however in the second trial 24% dates supported normal intake. Egg production and egg weight on all date and date part diets were equal to those of the control.

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the use of ground whole hens in broiler starting diets processed through an extruder. In both experiments, the extruded whole hen diet improved growth rate and feed conversion in broiler chicks when compared with the unextruded corn-soybean meal diet There were no differences (PS.05) in body weight, feed consumption, or feed conversion performance of chicks fed diets in either the extruded or unextruded form. No microorganism colonies were found, using total aerobic plate count, when feed was extruded at 132 or 140 C. These results demonstrate that extrusion technology can be used to process diets containing freshly ground whole hens to produce a nutritionally adequate broiler diet and that the whole hens can be included at 9.3% (dry basis) in a broiler diet Considerable variation was found for DM, CP, and crude fat percentages among samples of both culled and dead hens collected from a commercial laying operation. The magnitude of mis variation emphasizes the need to evaluate critically the chemical composition of hens if they are to be used as a feedstuff.(Key words: whole hen, extrusion, spent hen use, feedstuff, by-products) 1991 Poultry Science 70:234-240

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate laying hen performance when fed two sources of inorganic phosphorus. In Experiment 1, a regular and a coarse form of defluorinated phosphate and one source of dicalcium phosphate were used in diets calculated to contain either .4 or .5% total phosphorus (.2 or .3% nonphytate phosphorus). In Experiment 2, either the regular form of defluorinated phosphate or the dicalcium phosphate source was fed in diets calculated to contain either .4, .5, .6, or .7% total phosphorus (.2, .3, .4, or .5% nonphytate phosphorus). In Experiment 1, hens fed .5% total dietary phosphorus consumed more feed and produced heavier eggs (P less than or equal to .05). Hens fed the .4% dietary phosphorus level lost more weight during the experiment (P less than or equal to .05). No differences among dietary treatments existed for egg specific gravity. A significant source by level interaction occurred for the farm classification of thin-shelled, cracked, or broken eggs and for the total of these classifications. In Experiment 2, egg production, feed consumption, egg weight, and egg mass were depressed (P less than or equal to .05) at the .4% total dietary phosphorus level. Hens fed the .4 and .7% total dietary phosphorus level laid eggs with the highest and lowest egg specific gravity, respectively. This trend was inverse to the effect of these phosphorus levels on egg weights. A significant source by level interaction occurred for the farm classification of thin shell and for the total percentage of eggs with exterior defects. At the .4% total phosphorus level, the regular form of defluorinated phosphate produced eggs with a significantly greater thin shell classification than the dicalcium phosphate source. Hens fed the dicalcium phosphate source produced a higher percentage of compressed-sided and misshapen eggs.

In Experiments 1 and 2, dead broilers (3 and 5 wk old) and dead turkeys (6 and 12 wk old), and broiler feathers were obtained from commercial sources and evaluated for nutritional contribution when co-extruded with soybean meal (48% CP). Samples of each age of dead birds and two feather treatments, with and without 5.13% proteolytic enzyme premix (INSTA-PRO®), were blended with soybean meal in an 25:75 ratio (wt/wt, wet basis) and processed through an INSTA-PRO® extruder. The resulting six extruded products were used in formulating isocaloric and isonitrogenous diets and were compared with a diet containing corn-soybean meal or corn-soybean meal with commercial feather meal when fed to broilers from 1 to 21 days of age. In Experiment 1, feeding diets containing dead broilers supported higher (P < .05) body weight than those receiving the corn-soybean meal control diet. There was no difference (P > .05) in feed conversion. Enzyme treatment of the feathers improved growth rate but not feed conversion over the untreated feather diet in Experiment 1. In Experiment 2, dead poultry and enzyme-treated feather extruded products were good feed ingredients for broilers with feed efficiency and growth responses comparable to the corn-soybean meal control diet.In Experiments 3 and 4, centrifuged eggshells from egg-breaking plants (Source A or B), centrifuged hatchery solid (Source C or D), centrifuged hatchery solid plus liquid (Source C or D), and mechanically deboned turkey frame residue were each blended with ground corn to produce mixtures with 15 to 25% moisture and processed through an INSTA-PRO® extruder. Two experiments involving 480 Hy-Line® 36 laying hens were conducted for three 28-day periods to evaluate hen performance and egg quality when the extruded products were incorporated into the diet. No differences were found (P < .05) in egg production, egg weight, feed conversion, and egg specific gravity for all diets.The microbiological test (total aerobic count) indicated that the pre-extrusion blended mixtures had significant numbers of colony-forming units per gram of sample. The extruded products that exited from the extruder barrel were free of aerobic microorganisms. The results of these studies indicated that high temperature-short time extrusion is an alternative method for converting these poultry industry residues into feedstuffs. (

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