Effects of adapted quality protein maize on broiler performance

Abstract

Quality protein maize (QPM) has high contents of the essential amino acids lysine and tryptophan. The substitution of standard maize (SM) with QPM in feeds can be profitable due to improved livestock performance and decreased use of costly dietary lysine supplementation and protein ingredients. Herein, effects of QPM adapted to temperate climate on broiler performance were tested. A feeding experiment was performed on control (fed with SM) and treatment (fed with QPM) broilers. Each feeding trial of 42 days' duration was carried out in three phases-starter (1-14), grower (15-35) and finisher (36-42). Diets for each growth phase were formulated based on the biochemical analysis of maize kernels. At the end of each growth phase, feed intake (FI), body weight gain (BWG), average daily gain (ADG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were calculated. In the first experiment, SM was completely replaced with QPM in treatment group diets. The results indicated better FCR in the treatment group for grower (1.51:1.56) and finisher (1.56:1.61) phases. In the second experiment, QPM content was increased and the soybean component decreased by 3%. This time, FCR improvement was even better but in all three phases-1.16:1.33 for starters, 1.28:1.36 for growers and 1.30:1.46 for finishers. These results indicate a significant financial reduction in the cost of feed as the price of soybean is usually two to four times higher than the price of maize. Overall, it can be concluded that using adapted QPM in broiler diets can be profitable for both feed industry and broiler producers.