The effect of feed containing fish hydrolysate to the feed quality improvement and the produced egg quality

Abstract

Addition of 1-2% of fish hydrolysate into the standard feed of laying hens has been
reported to reduce total nitrogen content and the total water content in the excreta. The
reduction in total nitrogen content in the excreta is one of the simple indications of improved
digestion and the better quality of feed given. This paper reports the effect of fish hydrolysate
addition to the standard feed at various concentration on improving feed quality and egg
quality of laying hens. A population of 114 laying hens of ± 86 weeks old were divided into
three treatment groups. Each group consisted of 38 individual hens, and each group performed
three replications. The chickens are kept in a battery cage by treating standard feed mixed with
fish hydrolysates with varying fish hydrolysate concentrations (0; 1; and 2%). To investigate
the effect of fish hydrolysate addition to standard feed on the feed quality, the total weight of
the excreta produced by each chicken was measured, and the beta carotene content in the yolk
of the egg is determined. The results showed that the total weight of excreta produced was
significantly affected (sig <0.05) by the addition of fish hydrolysate to the standard feed. The
weight of the excreta gradually decreases from the first day of the feeding treatment until the
fifth day, and the weight reduction of the excreta has a similar tendency to the decrease of the
total nitrogen in the excreta that has been reported. Therefore, the reduction in weight of the
excreta can also be considered as better digestion due to the increased quality of feed given.
The increase in feed quality, which results in an improved digestion process, also led to an
increase in egg quality characterized by a 250% increase of carotenoids content in egg yolk
compared to chicken eggs fed with standard feed. The conclusion is the mixing of 1- 2% fish
hydrolysate in standard feed can improve feed quality which is characterized by a decrease in
the total weight of excreta and also increase the egg quality characterized by an increase in
total carotenoid in the yolk.

1. Introduction
Chicken farming is one of the dynamic businesses in Indonesia