MEKARN MSc 2001-2003

Citation of this paper

Effects of duckweed on the performance of local (Tau Vang)

Effects of duckweed on the performance of local (Tau Vang) laying hens


Nguyen Thi Kim Khang (1) and Brian Ogle (2)

(1) Department of Animal Husbandry, College of Agriculture, Cantho University
khangntkim@yahoo.com
(2) Department of Animal Nutrition and Management,
Box 7024 Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, S-750 07 Uppsala Sweden

Abstract

Eighty local (Tau Vang) laying hens at 19 weeks of age were allocated to 5 dietary treatments and 3 replicates. The control diet was a mixture of broken rice and soybean meal (SB100) with no duckweed supplied. For the other four diets duckweed was available ad libitum, giving 5 treatments, with soybean meal at levels of 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% (SB0DW, SB25 DW, SB50DW, SB75DW and SB100 respectively). Total feed consumption, and concentrate intake were not significantly different among treatments (P>0.05). Duckweed intake on the SB0DW (5.2 g) was significantly higher than of the hens in the SB25DW, SB75DW and SB50DW treatments (3.6, 2.6 and 2.3 g, respectively). The proportion of the total crude protein intake from duckweed was highest on the SB0DW diet (28.67% CP) and decreased on the SB25DW, SB50DW diets, which were higher than on the SB75DW diet (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in daily CP and ME intakes and feed conversion ratio (P>0.05) among treatments. Age at first egg was not significantly different among treatments, although it was somewhat longer on the SB100 diet compared to other treatments (P>0.05). There were no significant differences among treatments for egg production, egg weight, fertility, hatchability or egg quality parameters (P>0.05). However yolk pigmentation was significantly better (P<0.05) for all treatments with duckweed compared to the control diet

Key words:Laying hens, duckweed, egg production, yolk pigmentation

1. Introduction

Duckweed is a tiny water plant that grows very well on sewage ponds all year round in the Mekong Delta. The nutritive value of duckweed, which contains 40% crude protein, compares well to soybean as a source of plant protein. More recently it has been shown that duckweed can replace conventional protein in egg laying bird diets up to 25% of total dry matter (Leng, 1999). In earlier studies (Paper II) duckweed was provided ad-libitum for growing Tau Vang chickens on diets where broken rice, successively replaced up to 75% soybean meal without reduction in growth performance. Therefore, the objectives of the experiment were:

2. Materials and methods

2.1. Experimental design

Eighty local (Tau Vang) laying hens at 19 weeks of age were allocated to 5 dietary treatments and 3 replicates. The hens were selected on the basis of growth rate and appearance from the remaining chickens used in a previous growth trial (Paper II), and continued on the same treatment as in the growth trial. The dietary treatments were:

SB100: broken rice + soybean meal (100%) mixed diet, ad-libitum with no duckweed (control)

SB75DW: broken rice + soybean meal (75% of SB100) mixed diet offered ad-libitum plus fresh duckweed ad-libitum

SB50DW: broken rice + soybean meal (50% of SB100) mixed diet offered ad-libitum plus duckweed ad-libitum

SB25DW: broken rice + soybean meal (25% of SB100) mixed diet offered ad-libitum plus duckweed ad-libitum

SB0DW: broken rice + no soybean meal (0%) offered ad-libitum plus duckweed ad-libitum

A vitamin - mineral premix was included in all diets. The control diet contained broken rice and soybean meal with 16 % crude protein. Lysine and methionine were added to the diet to meet recommended requirements (NRC, 1994).

2.2. Feeding and management

The laying hens were confined in pens with 5 or 6 hens and one cockerel. The amount of diet offered was estimated according to the consumption level, which was daily about 10% in dry matter of body weight. Feed was weighed daily in the morning. Feed residues were taken every morning and afternoon before feeding. The dried samples were bulked at weekly intervals and analyzed. The duckweed was grown on ponds fertilized with effluent from biodigesters on the experimental pig farm of Cantho University and harvested every day during the experimental period. The fresh duckweed was offered ad-libitum in separate feeders and given 2 times per day. The feed was given with increased frequency according to the increased production of the birds to ensure there was minimum wastage of duckweed. The refusals were collected and weighed every morning and afternoon before feeding to calculate the actual feed and duckweed intakes. As there were considerable differences between treatments in age at first egg, data were collected and analyzed for eight weeks after the first egg for each treatment.

Parameters recorded:

Feed and duckweed intake

Egg number and egg weight

Quality of eggs and yolk pigment

Proportion of fertile eggs and hatchability of eggs*

*Egg weighing 38 g laid from around 25 days after first egg and onwards were collected and tested for fertility (by candling) and hatchability.

2.3. Analytical procedures and calculations

Samples of feed and duckweed were analyzed for CP, DM, EE and CF using standard AOAC methods (AOAC, 1994) at the laboratories of Cantho University, and amino acids were analyzed by using HPLC (High-performance liquid chromatography) according to Spackman et al. (1958) at the Center of Analysis Service Experiment (CASE), Ho Chi Minh City.

Egg weight: eggs were collected daily and the number laid was recorded for the entire replicate group throughout the experimental period. Eggs laid during 7 days were kept together and weighed on a replicate basis. Average hen production was calculated from the total number of eggs actually collected divided by the total number of hens present in each group at the end of each week. The records of feed consumption were thus for each week for each replicate.

Shell thickness was measured using a micrometer and albumen height was measured using a micrometer, taken halfway between its outer edge and the outer edge of the yolk.

Albumin Index =

Albumen height

Average short and long diameter of albumen

Yolk Index =

Yolk height

Yolk width

Egg shape =

Breadth of egg

Length of egg

(Bao, 1978; Smith, 2001)

Yolk pigmentation was measured by using the Roche color pan with 1- 14 color score. Yolks numbered 1 - 6 are light yellow, 7 - 10, medium yellow and from 11 to 14 are dark yellow.

2.4. Statistical analysis

The data were analyzed by analysis of variance using the General Linear Models procedure of Minitab version 13.31 (Minitab 2000). Comparisons between the various levels of soybean meal in diets were tested. Pairwise comparisons between treatment means were made using Tukey's procedure.

3. Results

3.1. Feed and nutrient intakes

The data in Table 3 show that total feed consumption and concentrate intakes were not significantly different among treatments (P>0.05). However, daily duckweed DM intake on the SB0DW diet (5.2 g) was significantly higher than of the hens in the SB25DW, SB75DW and SB50DW treatments (3.6, 2.6 and 2.3 g, respectively). Daily CP intake from concentrate feed decreased as the soybean meal in the diet was decreased, and consequently CP as proportion of DM intake decreased significantly from 16.8% on the SB100 diet to 12.5% on the SB0DW diet (P<0.05). The proportion of the total crude protein intake from duckweed was highest on the SB0DW diet (28.7% CP) and decreased on the SB25DW, and SB50DW diets, which were higher than on the SB75DW diet (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in daily CP and ME intakes and feed conversion ratio (P>0.05) among treatments.

3.2. Reproductive performance

The reproductive performances of hens for the 8 weeks of the experiment are shown in Table 4 and 5. Age at first egg was not significantly different among treatments, although it was somewhat longer on the SB100 diet compared to the other treatments (P>0.05). There were no significant differences among treatments for egg production (P>0.05), but the total for the period of the experiment was highest for the SB25DW and SB0DW treatments (16 eggs/hen). The differences for mean egg weight and percent of eggs > 38 g were not significant among treatments (P>0.05). The average laying rate, fertile egg rate and the hatchability did not differ significantly among treatments (P>0.05). However, a numerically lower number of eggs, fertile eggs and hatched eggs were produced in the SB100 diet than on the other treatments.

3.3. Egg quality

The differences among treatments were significant for yolk pigmentation (P<0.05) and the darkest yellow yolks were found on the SB0 and SB25 treatments (12.2) and pigment color was significantly darker for the hens fed duckweed compared to the control treatment (5.5). Albumen index, yolk index and shell thickness were not significantly different among treatments (P>0.05). However, the yolk index of eggs from hens on the SB100 diet was lower (0.38) than the recommended standard (0.4) (Bao, 1978).

3.4. Economic analysis

A summary of the economic effects of the different levels of soybean meal is presented in Table 7. The SB50DW diet had the lowest cost (5,640 VND/kg) compared to the other treatments. However, the highest profit was on the SB25 diet (27,553 VND) and the lowest benefit was on the SB100 diet (2,390 VND). This was followed by the diet in which broken rice and duckweed completely replaced 75% of the soybean meal.

4. Discussion

The duckweed was of good quality, with a crude protein content of 37.3%, probably because the ponds on which it was grown were fertilized with pig effluent. However the DM content was only 4.7%, and the high moisture content of duckweed (95 %) has been reported as the major significant limitation of including it at high levels in the diets of chickens (Haustein et al., 1988). However, duckweed is very palatable and can stimulate appetite, and the hens in the SB0DW treatment consumed more total feed DM, more of the concentrate and more duckweed than for the other treatments, possibly in an attempt to meet their requirement for protein (Leng, 1992). Besides, mean intake per hen will also be influenced by mortality within the pen as the effect of the cockerel will be greater. The intake of duckweed thus increased as the soybean meal in the diets was reduced and Becerra (1994) and Men (2001) reported similar findings for ducks. The amount of duckweed in the total diet thus increased the total protein intake. According to Kakuk (1988, cited by Liem et al., 2003), the daily protein requirement intake to satisfy hens' reproduction is 5.6 g CP (this applies to hens with a body weight of 1.6 kg).

Besides, on the duckweed treatments vitamin deficiency was probably not a problem, as Klasing (1998) reported that higher amounts of vitamins (A, D, E) would be absorbed and digested in diets based largely on green plant sources (Solomons, 1996), such as duckweed compared to "artificial" feeds. These vitamins are needed for growth and egg production (NRC, 1994).

Mean age of the Tau Vang hens at first egg was highest on the SB100 diet. This could be related to the poor performance in the previous experiment (Paper II). Studies by Milby et al., (1953), and Leeson et al., (1979, 1987a) have indicated that early growth depression often depresses mature body weight and thereby adversely affects adult performance and maturity. However, according to Minh (1998), age at first egg for local hens in Vietnam was from 160 to 165 days, which is similar to the mean age in our experiment, although the variation was considerable, ranging from 144 days for the SB25DW hens to 191 days for the SB100 hens. Egg production showed a close relationship with the hens' maturity (at first egg), and data in Table 4 show that the age at first egg was lowest on the SB25DW diet, and also the highest egg production, and this agrees with Liem et al. (2003). The high egg production on the SB0DW diet was confirmed by Haustein et al. (1987) reported that older hens produce significantly better than do younger hens when fed diets containing high levels of duckweed. Replacing 75% of soybean meal by broken rice and duckweed not only gave higher egg production, but also the laying rate, fertile egg rate and hatchability were higher. In a previous study from Cantho University (Minh, 1998) egg production, fertile egg rate and hatchability were higher than the results of our experiment that could have been affected by Marek's disease occurring during the experiment. The ratio between hens and cockerel in this experiment (5:1) was lower than the recommendation (12:1) of Minh (1998), so this would not have been a problem.

Egg quality is important in a discerning market (Smith, 2001). The result in Table 6 shown that the differences in shell thickness were not significant among treatments. However, the mean shell thickness on all treatments was higher than the recommendation for local chickens of Bao (1978) of 0.32 mm, which suggests that duckweed had no negative effect on the calcium absorption of hens. Egg shape is also important and the standard index is 75% (Smith, 2001). The results in Table 6 show that eggs of the hens on the SB25DW, SB75DW and SB100 diets met this standard. Yolk color is also of concern to the customer and is greatly influenced by diet (Smith, 2001; George, 1989). In this study, the diets with a duckweed supplement resulted in eggs with a dark yellow color due to the high carotene content of duckweed (1,025 mg/kg of DM, Men et al., 2001; Haustein et al., 1987) which was not the case for eggs from hens on the SB100 diet, which were rather pale in color. The yolk index on the diets with DW reached the standard value of 0.4 (Bao, 1978), except for the value for treatment SB100, which was slightly below the minimum standard. This could be caused by vitamin A or xanthophyll deficiency (George, 1989). Albumin quality was slightly below the standard for all treatments except for SB0DW and this could be related to the high temperature (mean maximum of 31oC), as George (1989) reported that high temperatures reduced albumin index. The second possible reason, which related to the time of lay, because most of the hens were in the first phase of egg production.

The highest economic benefit on the SB25DW diet was a result of the high rate of production and high efficiency of conversion when compared to the other treatments.

5. Conclusion

From these results, it is concluded that egg production, egg quality, feed conversion and net profit were highest when broken rice replaced 75% of the soybean meal in the diet and duckweed was supplied ad-libitum. However, even at 100% of soybean meal replacement the egg production and profitability were also improved compared to the control diet.

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Table 1. Ingredient composition of the experimental diets

Ingredient

Treatment

SB100

SB75DW

SB50DW

SB25DW

SB0DW

Broken rice

67.5

74.5

81.5

88.5

95.5

Soya bean meal

28.0

21.0

14.0

7.0

0.0

Shell meal

2.0

2.0

2.0

2.0

2.0

Bone meal

2.0

2.0

2.0

2.0

2.0

Vitamin Premix

0.2

0.2

0.2

0.2

0.2

Lysine

0.2

0.2

0.2

0.2

0.2

Methionine

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

Duckweed

0

Ad libitum

Ad libitum

Ad libitum

Ad libitum

Cost (VND/kg)

2906

2767

2627

2486

2345

Table 2. Chemical composition of the experimental diets (% of DM) and duckweed (DW)

Treatment

SB100

SB75

DW

SB50

DW

SB25

DW

SB0

DW

DW

Dry matter

86.4

89.9

86.1

85.5

86.2

4.7

Crude protein

16.8

14.2

12.3

10.7

9.9

37.3

Amino acids

Lysine

0.79

0.71

0.63

0.53

0.31

2.9

Methionine

0.43

0.41

0.4

0.37

0.31

0.7

Crude fibre

1.91

1.55

1.53

1.4

1.14

5.85

Ether extract

5.34

4.21

2.68

1.17

0.48

9.62

Ash

6.23

6.02

6.1

5.21

1.14

17.91

Calcium

1.50

1.38

1.39

1.29

1.18

0.97

Phosphorus

0.66

0.60

0.60

0.57

0.53

1.53

ME, MJ/kg

13.17

13.17

13.16

13.15

13.15

9.3

(calculated)

Table 3. Effect of replacing soy bean meal by broken rice and duckweed on total daily nutrient intakes of Tau Vang laying hens

Item

SB100

SB75DW

SB50DW

SB25DW

SB0DW

SE

P

Total feed intake, g DM

41.3

47.5

37.5

44.0

54.6

7.47

0.58

Conc. intake, g DM

41.3

44.9

35.2

40.4

49.4

7.30

0.72

Duckweed, g DM

0.0

2.6b

2.3b

3.6ab

5.2a

0.52

0.00

CP intake, g

6.95

7.33

5.21

5.63

6.81

1.12

0.63

CP from conc., g

6.95

6.35

4.34

4.30

4.88

1.06

0.33

CP from DW, g

0.00

0.98b

0.86b

1.33ab

1.93a

0.19

0.00

CP, % of DM

16.83a

15.46b

13.84c

12.83d

12.53e

0.24

0.00

% of CP from DW

-

13.42c

16.11b

23.72ab

28.67a

2.25

0.00

ME, MJ

0.54

0.62

0.49

0.56

0.70

0.10

0.63

Lysine intake, g

0.32

0.40

0.29

0.32

0.30

0.05

0.68

Ca, g

0.62

0.64

0.51

0.55

0.64

0.10

0.87

a,b,c,d means without common superscripts within rows are significantly different (P<0.05)

Table 4. Effect of replacing soy bean meal by broken rice and duckweed on egg production, feed/egg laid and egg weight of Tau Vang laying hens

Item

SB100

SB75

DW

SB50

DW

SB25

DW

SB0

DW

SE

P

FCR, kg feed /kg egg

1.76

2.03

1.69

1.79

2.31

0.33

0.67

Age at 1st egg, day

191

177

160

144

173

12.68

0.17

Egg production, eggs/layer

7.6

9.9

13.5

16.0

16.2

2.9

0.22

Average egg weight, g

40.8

42.5

44.9

43.5

41.8

1.65

0.49

% Eggs>38g

66.3

62.1

80.7

71.0

50.7

15.3

0.72

a,b means without common superscripts within rows are significantly different (P<0.05)

Table 5. Effect of replacing soy bean meal by broken rice and duckweed on reproductive performance of Tau Vang laying hens

Item

SB100

SB75

DW

SB50

DW

SB25

DW

SB0

DW

SE

P

Laying rate, %

16.7

20.7

23.6

28.7

33.0

4.44

0.16

Fertile egg rate*, %

66.7

79.2

74.1

75.1

61.0

13.28

0.89

Hatchability**, %

38.9

70.0

75.4

82.2

68.7

12.24

0.21

* Proportion of fertile eggs of incubated eggs

**Proportion of hatched eggs of fertile eggs

Table 6. Effect of replacing soy bean meal by broken rice and duckweed on egg quality of Tau Vang laying hens

Item

SB100

SB75

DW

SB50

DW

SB25

DW

SB0

DW

SE

P

Yolk pigmentation

5.5b

9.7a

11.2a

12.2a

12.2a

0.72

0.00

Egg yolk, %

28.52

31.51

29.86

30.59

30.85

1.49

0.68

Shell thickness, mm

0.34

0.35

0.37

0.35

0.36

0.02

0.67

Egg shape

75.5ab

75.2ab

73.4ab

77.7a

69.2b

1.54

0.01

Index of Albumin

0.07

0.07

0.06

0.07

0.08

0.01

0.22

Index of Yolk

0.38

0.41

0.41

0.43

0.44

0.01

0.11

a,bmeans without common superscripts within rows are significantly different (P<0.05)

Table 7. Effect of replacing soybean meal by broken rice and duckweed on the economics of egg production of Tau Vang laying hens for the 8 week experimental period

Item

SB100

SB75DW

SB50DW

SB25DW

SB0DW

Total feed consumption, g

2,027

2,296

2,147

2,462

2,966

Feed cost, VND/kg

2,906

2,767

2,627

2,486

2,345

Total feed cost, VND

5,890

6,353

5,640

6,120

6,955

Total eggs produced/layer

7.6

9.9

13.5

16.0

16.2

No.of eggs weighing >38g

5.0

6.2

10.9

11.4

8.2

No. of fertile eggs,

3.4

4.9

8.1

8.5

5.0

No. of hatched chicks

1.3

3.4

6.1

7.0

3.4

Eggs weighing <38g

2.6

3.8

2.6

4.6

8.0

Income, VND

8,280

18,159

27,502

33,673

23,386

Sale of chicks, 4,000 VND/chick

5,217

13,645

24,368

28,093

13,787

Sale of eggs, 1,200 VND/egg

3,063

4,514

3,134

5,580

9,599

Net profit, VND

2,390

11,806

21,862

27,553

16,431

For fertile eggs and eggs > 38g and <38g present as % of total laid