الملخص الإنجليزي
The feed cost in the poultry industry may amount to about 60-70% from the total cost. This is essential in countries like Oman where 100 % of the feed ingredients are imported. This leads to a substantial increase in the cost of production. One of the options to overcome this problem is to use unconventional feed resources. Prosopis juliflora pods are a cheap, readily available animal feed resource in Oman. However, the nutritive value of Prosopis juliflora pods might need to be improved as a mono-gastric animal feed because it contains some anti-nutritional factors such as non-starch polysaccharides. Processing may help to improve the Prosopis juliflora pods as a broiler feed ingredient. Two experiments were carried out to evaluate the potential use of processed Prosopis juliflora pods as partial replacements of corn for growing broiler chicken. Experiment 1, ileal digestibility assay, was carried out to evaluate the nutritive value of raw or processed Prosopis juliflora pods compared with corn for feeding broiler chicken. Three test ingredients, corn, raw and thermally processed Prosopis juliflora pods were used as a sole source of energy in the diet. Seventy five birds of Cobb 500 were divided into three groups with five replicates, (five birds in each replicate cage). Diet containing processed Prosopis juliflora pods had a lower apparent metabolizable energy (AME) content (13.41 vs. 15.26) and apparent ileal digestibility coefficient of crude fiber (0.46 vs. 0.65). Based on results obtained from Experiment 1, the second experiment, (Growth Study) was conducted to test the effect of thermal processing on the nutritive value of Proşopis juliflora pods. Seven dietary treatments: basal, three levels of raw Prosopis juliflora pods (5%, 10% and 15%) and three levels of autoclaved Prosopis juliflora pods were evaluated. One hundred sixty eight birds of Cobb 500 were allocated to the dietary treatment with four replicates each of 6 birds. Weekly feed intake, body weight gain and feed conversion ratio were recorded. Fifty six birds were randomly selected to evaluate carcass and meat qua characteristics at the end of second experiments, growth study. Thermal processing improved crude fiber digestibility and AME in diet with 10 % inclusion level. As level of inclusion of Prosopis juliflora pods above 10 % average feed intake, body weight gain and feed conversion ratio decreased. Feeding thermal processed Prosopis juliflora pods did not cause any negative effects on carcass or meat quality characteristics, hematology and serum biochemistry parameters. This study indicated that processed Prosopis juliflora pods can replace corn up to levels of 10% in broilers diets without affecting the broiler performance. This will contribute to reducing feed cost for small and medium scale poultry farmers
