QUALITY AND QUANTITY OF FEED INGREDIENTS UTILIZED IN FEED FORMULATION ARE THE DETERMINANT OF FEED QUALITY

1.1 Introduction

Feed formulation is the process of finding the optimal combination of feed ingredients that meets the specified nutritional requirements for specific types of poultry. Feed formulation is an applied field of nutrition where nutritionists apply their knowledge to produce a balanced diet. Many pieces of information should be incorporated prior to feed formulation to maximize the efficiency of formulation. Information like nutritional requirements, feedstuffs composition, nutrient availability and costs of available feedstuffs are essential elements for effective feed formulation. There are several techniques used to formulate poultry feeds. Hand formulation was practiced for long time before the emergence of modern computers with the capability of solving complex mathematical problems in 1950s.

As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.

1.2 Background of Study

Recently, there has been interest in the utilization of moringa (Moringa oleifera) commonly called horseradish tree or drumstick tree, as a protein source for livestock (Makker and Becker, 1997; Sarwatt et al., 2002). Moringa leaves have quality attributes that make it a potential replacement for soybean meal or fish meal in non-ruminant diets. Moringa can easily be established in the field, has good coppicing ability, as well as good potential for forage production. Furthermore, there is the possibility of obtaining large amounts of high quality forage from moringa without expensive inputs due to favorable soil and climatic conditions for its growth. Sarwattet al. (2004) reported that moringa foliages are a potential inexpensive protein source for livestock feeding. The advantages of using moringa for a protein resource are numerous, and include the fact that it is a perennial plant that can be harvested several times in one growing season and also has the potential to reduce feed cost. Moringa oleifera is in the group of high-yielding nutritious browse plants with every part having food value (Duke, 1998).

Feeds and feeding is an integral part of pig production that claim between 60-75% cost of production and at the same time dictates the production strength and quality based on the observed feeding regime and feeding quality. Quality and quantity of feed ingredients utilized in feed formulation are the determinant of feed quality. These ingredients could be grouped as main (bulk), supplement (small) or micro (minute) ingredients depending on their inclusion rate. However they are all inevitable for good performance of the animals.

It is of great importance in livestock improvement to supplement for protein and other available nutrients which might be limiting in the diet of the animal. In animal nutrition, the provision of nutrients needed by the animal through supplementation is usually done in accordance to the animal’s requirements.

It is a necessity to supply all the required nutrients by the animal in its diet, but the major limiting factors to achieving this are the sourcing of cheap, available and quality nutrients with the price been the most prominent. The prices of these protein sources have been escalating continuously in recent times, whilst availability is often erratic. The problem has been worsened due to the increasing competition between humans and livestock for these protein ingredients as food. According to Odunsi (2003) the rapid growth of human and livestock population, which is creating increased needs for food and feed in the less developed countries, demand that alternative feed resources must be identified and evaluated.

In high populated countries that are Food-Deficit like Nigeria, surplus of cereals is generally not available; therefore, it is not advisable to develop a wholly grain-based feeding system. The recommended policy is to identify and use locally available feed resources to formulate diets that are as balanced as possible (Guèye and Branckaert, 2002). There is the need, therefore, to explore the use of non-conventional feed sources that have the capacity to yield the same output as conventional feeds, and perhaps at cheaper cost.

Soya bean meal and fish meal have been widely and successfully used as conventional protein sources for livestock but due to the high competition of these food and feed materials between man and animal, they are gradually being replaced with non-convectional protein sources like the moringa leaf meal for the formulation of animal feed.

This strategy could help reduce the cost of production, and ensure cheaper meat production thereby making available the major crops for human consumption. The economization of feed cost using cheaper and unconventional feed resources (Vasanthakumar et al., 1999; Bhatt and Sharma, 2001; Muriu et al., 2002) is an important aspect of commercial pig production. Despite the high crude protein content of moringa leaf meal, there is little information available on the use of this unconventional feed resource, especially as an alternative protein supplement for pig production.

Therefore, in Nigeria where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Quality and Quantity of Feed Ingredients Utilized in Feed Formulation are the Determinant of Feed Quality.

1.3 Statement of Problems

Investigation revealed the problem of the Quality and Quantity of Feed Ingredients Utilized in Feed Formulation are the Determinant of Feed Quality research work, which entails that; feces are contaminated with uric acid and may be other materials like feathers or foreign materials. Contamination with uric acid can be a problem when feeding overheated proteins leading to excretion of AAs in the urine as metabolites (Ravindran and Bryden, 1999). The problem of nutrient variability in feedstuffs was recognized in the 1960s (Deyoe, 1964). Since then several solutions have been proposed to overcome nutrient variability.

The use of Corn crude protein (CP) values obtained by this method in feed formulation is problematic since some nitrogen content comes from other non-protein nitrogen compounds and all proteins do not contain 16% nitrogen. Furthermore, there is a widely held (true) belief that the protein per se is not required and the requirements are for its constituent amino acids. This lead to eliminating CP from feed formulation models without a feature to provide for the NEAA needs.

1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study

The aim of the study is to examine the Quality and Quantity of Feed Ingredients Utilized in Feed Formulation are the Determinant of Feed Quality. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows to:

1. Evaluate the chemical content of cultivated, air-dried moringa leaf meal.
2. Evaluate the chemical content of wet brewers spent grain.
3. Evaluate the feed intake and weight gain of weaner pigs fed diets containing moringa leaf meal and brewers spent grain.

1.5 Research Questions

The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:

• What is the chemical content of cultivated, air-dried moringa leaf meal?
• What is the chemical content of wet brewers spent grain?
• What is feed intake and weight gain of weaner pigs fed diets containing moringa leaf meal and brewers spent grain?

1.6 Significance of Study

This study will be of great importance in livestock improvement to supplement for protein and other available nutrients which might be limiting in the diet of the animal. In animal nutrition, the provision of nutrients needed by the animal through supplementation is usually done in accordance to the animal’s requirements.

This study will be of immense benefit to other researchers who intend to know more on this study and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their research work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other study.

1.7 Scope of Study

The study focuses on the Quality and Quantity of Feed Ingredients Utilized in Feed Formulation are the Determinant of Feed Quality in Nigeria.

1.8 Limitations of the Study

During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:

1. Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
2. Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
3. Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
4. Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet).