Seaweed is an important source of hydro- colloids. These water-soluble carbohydrates increase the viscosity of solutions to form gels.
An increase in feed intake from pellet binders incorporating seaweed All the levels of seaweed addition led to increased feed intake during both the starter and the grower-finisher phases. A comparison between the two seaweed species showed that the red seaweed (K. alvarezii) was more acceptable to broiler chickens than the brown seaweed (S. polycystum). Body- weight gain was more for the K. alvarezii than the S. polycys- tum diet. Broilers fed with 2% K. alvarezii had the highest body weight gain compared to the 5% and 10% inclusion levels of the same seaweed species.
Better feed conversion The feed conversion ratio (FCR) measured during the finisher period was better for both the K. alvarezii and the S. polycys- tum compared to control at the 2% and 5% inclusion rates. The 10% inclusion level for both the K. alvarezii and the S. pol- ycystum was higher compared to control. The best FCR was observed with the 2% K. alvarezii diet. This was attributed to better pellet quality observed with K. alvarezii as a good pellet binder will keep all the ingredients intact and can be easily consumed by birds.
Inclusion level of seaweed There was no significant difference between treatments ex- cept for thigh and breast yield. Breast yield was higher with 5% K. alvarezii compared to the other treatments. The high- est thigh yields were found with the 5% S. polycystum and
the commercial binder diets. The yield of carcass, wings, drumstick, liver and abdominal fat were not affected by die- tary treatment. The researchers concluded that both sea- weed species K. alvarezii and S. polycystum at 2-5% could serve as a potential pellet binder to improve growth perfor- mance and feed efficiency in broilers with no adverse effects on carcass parameters. In addition, owing to their hydrocol- loid content and other properties, such as swelling capacity, water retention capacity and gel formation capacity, both of these seaweed species can improve the quality of pellets in broiler diets.
Table 1 – Effect of seaweed pellet binders on pellet durability index (PDI) and pellet hardness , and seaweed differences on swelling capacity (SWC) and water retention capacity (RWC).
Treatment Control
S. polycystum K. alvarezii Commercial binder
2% 5%
10% 2% 5%
10% PDI
86.33 87.93 87.73 80.37 65.87 48.13 35.63 37.23
Hardness (N) SWC (mL/g) WRC (g/g) 19.08 19.42 16.00 19.00 16.07 24.93 22.73 19.97
- 13.3 34.2 - ▶ ALL ABOUT FEED | Volume 29, No. 9, 2021 - 8.2 10 - 7
PHOTO: KOOS GROENEWOLD
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