Isidro Argentina Chemane

This research evaluated levels of peanut meal inclusion in diets for laying hens. A total of 200 Hisex White hens, 72 weeks of age, were used in a completely randomized design with five treatments and ten replicates of four hens each. Treatments consisted of replacing soybean meal with peanut meal at 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100%. Over a 70-day period, feed intake, egg production, egg weight, egg mass, feed conversion, and internal and external egg quality were evaluated. Economic analyses of diets and estimates of the carbon footprint were also conducted based on life cycle assessment data of the ingredients. Total replacement of soybean meal with peanut meal did not significantly affect productive performance or egg quality (p > 0.05). Increasing levels of peanut meal inclusion linearly reduced feed cost, providing savings of up to US$ 41.81 per ton. In addition, a progressive reduction in the carbon footprint of the diets was observed, reaching a decrease of 26.37% in CO₂ equivalent emissions. Peanut meal can fully replace soybean meal in laying hen diets without compromising productive performance or egg quality while reducing feed costs and environmental impact.

This study aimed to assess the nutritional value of whole corn germ (WCG) in the diet of chickens. Amino acid digestibility, fatty acid digestibility, and metabolizable energy were evaluated. A metabolism assay was conducted using the precise feeding method on roosters. A completely randomized design was used, with two treatments and ten replications per rooster in each experimental unit. The treatments were as follows: WCG1, precise feeding with WCG; and WCG2, fasting birds to determine metabolic and endogenous losses in energy and fat. The variables analyzed were coefficients for amino acids in corn germ meal and fatty acid digestibility. The results showed that the standardized digestibility coefficients for amino acids in corn germ meal were (in g/kg) as follows: Lys, 920; Thr, 780; Met + Cys, 800; Arg, 910; His, 890; Ile, 950; Leu, 970; Phe + Tyr, 870; Val, 980; Gly + Ser, 740; Ala, 960; Asp, 870; and Glu, 930. The average fatty acid digestibility and AMEn were 850 g/kg and 4934 kcal/kg, respectively. Corn germ meal, which showed high digestibility of nutrients and energy, is considered an interesting ingredient for diets requiring high energy concentration.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the inclusion of canola and coconut oils to diets of European quail (Coturnix coturnix) over performance and carcass yield. One hundred and ninety-two quail (eight-days old) were randomly allocated to four dietary treatments with six replicates of eight birds each. The treatments were arranged in a factorial 2×2 scheme with two sources of dietary oil containing two levels of canola and coconut oils (1 and 2%). For performance variables, the final weight was evaluated, and the carcass variables were feed intake, weight gain, and feed conversion. A significant difference was observed between treatments for feed intake, with the inclusion of 2% canola oil providing higher intake. There was also significant effect for carcass characteristics on weight at fasting, eviscerated carcass, liver and gizzard weights, as well as liver, heart, and gizzard yields. The inclusion of vegetable oil such as canola and coconut oils in diets for European quail at the levels of 1 and 2% can be performed with no negative effect on performance from 8 to 42 days of age.