Effect of incorporating sugar beet pulp in the finisher diet on performance of geese

Abstract

The aim of this work was to study the effects of incorporating sugar beet pulp (SBP) into the diet on the development of the crop and performance of geese. A total of 480 1-day-old ganders were divided into three groups differing in the composition and mode of distribution of the diet offered from day 56 to 89. The following two diets were used: a standard diet (nitrogen-corrected apparent metabolizable energy, AMEn 11.44 MJ/kg; 160 g/kg CP) or a diet containing 10% of SBP (SBP diet; AMEn 11.47 MJ/kg; 160 g/kg CP). The swelling capacity (SC) hydration was higher for SBP than for the standard diet (3.62 v. 2.72 ml of H2O/g of dry matter at 60 min; P<0.05). In the Control group, birds were fed with a controlled time of access to a standard diet. Other birds were fed the SBP diet with a controlled time of access (SBPt group) or a controlled quantity offered (SBPq). From day 90 to 104, 88 birds/group were overfed with a mixture containing mainly corn. Body traits including volume of the crop were measured at day 89. Fatty liver weight and commercial grading were measured at d 104. Feed intake from day 56 to 89 was higher in the Control group than in the SBPt group (8097 v. 7545 g; P<0.05), feed intake in the SBPq group being intermediate (7801 g); however, live weights (LW) of the birds were similar in the three groups measured at day 89 (5746 g; P>0.05). At day 89, the volume of the crop tended to be higher in the SBPt compared with the Control group (52.8 v. 48.8 ml/kg of LW; P=0.101). After overfeeding, feed intake (12 922 g), weight gain (2412 g), LW (8170 g), fatty liver weight (875 g) and commercial grading of the fatty liver were similar (P>0.1) for all the three groups. Therefore, SBP could help adapt the digestive tract of waterfowl to high feed intake through an increase in the crop volume, but its method of use – that is, level of incorporation and mode of distribution – should continue to be investigated.

Influence of the incorporation mode of sugar beet pulp in the finishing diet on the digestive tract and performances of geese reared for foie gras production

“…This is not consistent with the results of Arroyo et al (2015) who showed a decreased feed intake (−7%) and no effect on the BW using the same SBP incorporation level. On the other hand, geese submitted to the loose-mix feeding system were not significantly heavier than geese fed a complete pelleted diet at the end of the rearing period, as previously shown by Arroyo et al (2012a,b and2013b).…”

“…In the present study, we observed a strong relationship between WHC of the pelleted diet intake and the crop volume at the end of the growing period, as previously shown (Arroyo et al, 2012a;Arroyo et al, 2015). However, we observed no link between crop volume and mortality rate during the overfeeding period.…”

“…The feeding program was previously described by Arroyo et al (2015). Briefly, birds were fed a pre-starter diet (nitrogen-corrected apparent metabolizable energy, AME n : 11.72 MJ/kg; CP: 220 g/kg) from d 1 to 10, a starter diet (AME n : 11.72 MJ/kg; CP: 200 g/kg) from d 11 to 28, and a grower diet (AME n : 12.14 MJ/kg; CP: 180 g/kg) from 29 to 55 d of age.…”

“…Its use in goose diets has no detrimental effects on geese reared for meat production (Arslan, 2003(Arslan, , 2005 and could help mitigate the environmental consequences of both the animal production system (Mackenzie et al, 2016) and the biofuel industry (Popp et al, 2016). Additionally, Arroyo et al (2015) showed that SBP incorporation (10%) in a complete pelleted diet for geese reared for foie gras production tended to increase the crop volume of the birds (+8%). Therefore, SBP could counteract the negative effect of the use of whole cereal during the finishing period on crop development and performance during the overfeeding period.…”

Hydration capacity: A new criterion for feed formulation

“…We recommend performing both measurements routinely because they have different meanings. For example, WHC seems more relevant to deal with issues such as litter quality in poultry (Ouhida et al, 2000), while SC seems more suited to solve the issues of crop expansion in waterfowl (Arroyo et al, 2015).…”