NUTRITION ▶▶▶
Seaweed is an important source of hydro- colloids. These water-soluble carbohydrates increase the vis- cosity of solu- tions to form gels.
higher for the 2% and 5% inclusion levels than the 10% level. In terms of pellet hardness, the K. alvarezii at 5% showed the highest value compared to the rest of the diets, while the S. polycystum and commercial binder were better than the control. Compared to S. polycystum, the greater hardness val- ues from K. alvarezii were attributed to its greater swelling ca- pacity and water retention capacity that improve the physical and structural properties of the pellet. In addition, K. alvarezii showed a greater gel strength and more viscosity compared to S. polycystum. This was attributed to the type of polysac- charide content in the two species. While K. alvarezii produces carrageenan, S. polycystum does not produce carrageenan but alginate instead. Carrageenan can form a strong and rigid gel when mixed with water.
Growth performance All the different levels of seaweed addition showed 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 accept- able to broiler chickens than the brown seaweed, S. polycys- tum. Body weight gain was more for the K. alvarezii compared to the S. polycystum 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. The feed con- version ratio (FCR) measured during the finisher period was
32 ▶ POULTRY WORLD | No. 5/6, 2021
better for both the K. alvarezii and the S. polycystum com- pared to the control at the 2% and 5% inclusion rates. The 10% inclusion level for both the K. alvarezii and the S. polycys- tum was higher compared to the 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 pel- let binder will keep all the ingredients intact and can be easily consumed by birds.
Inclusion level 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. Highest thigh yields were found with the 5% S. polycystum and the commercial binder diets. The yield of carcass, wings, drum- stick, liver and abdominal fat were not affected by dietary treatment. The researchers concluded that both seaweed species K. al- varezii and S. polycystum at 2–5% could serve as a potential pellet binder that improves growth performance and feed efficiency in broilers with no adverse effects on carcass pa- rameters. In addition, owing to their hydrocolloid content and other properties, such as swelling capacity, water reten- tion capacity and gel formation capacity, both of these seaweed species can improve the quality of pellets in broiler diets.
PHOTO: KOOS GROENEWOLD
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