The poultry sector is one of the most important pillars of Hungarian livestock production, as it is efficient, well-organized and provides a fast turnover. Nevertheless, it is essential to highlight the growing challenges that demand a new approach: rising raw material prices, import dependency – particularly in the case of protein crops – and sustainability issues. Therefore, our aim is to develop poultry nutrition programs that optimize broiler chicken and broiler duck feeding in a profitable and sustainable way. It is important to emphasize that these two goals do not contradict each other, they can be successfully aligned. We have confirmed this in our poultry feeding trials.
In recent years we have seen an unprecedented fluctuation of feed and energy prices, which directly affected the profitability of production. In addition, raw material supply comes with an increasing risk because of the volatility of the global soybean market. From the consumer side, there is a growing demand for environmentally friendly and sustainably produced poultry products. The aim is to achieve two goals: to maintain profitability while reducing environmental impact, and to bring efficiency and sustainability onto a common platform.
Source: Bonafarm Group
Nutritional decisions often simultaneously serve both economic and environmental purposes. Nutritionists have a wide range of tools at their disposal to achieve these goals. One such approach is to reduce the crude protein content in feeds, which not only lowers feed costs but also reduces ammonia emissions. The use of locally sourced raw materials can decrease transportation costs while also reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Beside this, the use of various feed additives (e.g. enzymes, probiotics) can improve feed conversion efficiency and contribute to lower emissions as well. Sex separate rearing and feeding allow for more precise fulfilment of animals’ nutritional requirements, thereby enhancing feeding efficiency and production performance. The use of by-products and alternative raw materials enables further optimization of feed costs while supporting the principles of circular economy. In other words, sustainability is not an additional cost, but the next level of efficiency.
Source: Bonafarm Group
Several alternative feed crops and industrial by-products are available in Hungary that can serve as valuable raw materials and protein sources in poultry nutrition. These alternative ingredients not only contribute to reducing environmental impact but also improve economic efficiency, as they are generally available at a more favourable price than conventional ingredients. Wheat or maize DDGS (Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles), a by-product of bioethanol production, is an important feed ingredient from a cost-efficiency perspective: it is a valuable source of nutrients for poultry species due to its high protein, fat and fibre content. Sorghum production has also gained increasing attention as an alternative to maize, as it adapts well to the challenges posed by climate change, delivers stable yields even under drought conditions and requires less water and fewer agrochemicals, thus contributing to making agricultural production more sustainable. Sorghum has a higher crude protein and energy content than maize, offering additional benefits in livestock nutrition. In addition, sorghum is less susceptible to mold contamination than maize, which means including it in feed comes with a lower mycotoxin risk. This is especially important in the poultry sector, as even low concentrations of mycotoxins can impair immune functions and reduce performance. Previously sorghum could be included in diets in limited amounts only because of its high antinutritional factor content (e.g. tannins), but by now this issue has been minimized by targeted selection. Practical experience shows that sorghum can be used safely in broiler chicken and broiler duck diets without compromising production results.
To find practical ways to use the above mentioned options, Bonafarm-Bábolna Takarmány Ltd. has performed numerous trials with both broiler chickens and broiler ducks. The aim of these trials was to investigate the effect of selected alternative ingredients and nutritional solutions on animal performance and the economic efficiency of production.
RESULTS OF OUR OWN EXPERIMENTS
Trial No 1
In this trial we investigated the effect of using a by-product (DDGS) and replacing maize with sorghum on the performance of Aviagen Ross 308 broilers (n=450/treatment) and the profitability of poultry meat production. The broilers were reared until 35 days of age. Starter diets (0 to 10 days of age) were supplemented with various protein crops (plant protein concentrate – NF, animal protein sources – ÁF1 and ÁF2). Grower I, Grower II and Finisher diets were formulated with 25-30% maize and 20% DDGS (K+DDGS), and 30-40% sorghum and 20% DDGS (C+DDGS). Evaluation of production parameters revealed no significant differences in fattening end weight and feed conversion rate (FCR) between the trial and the control groups, or between the various treatments. (Figure 1.).
Pairwise comparison of the average feed cost per 1 kg live weight revealed that the combination of sorghum and DDGS resulted in lower feed costs compared to the combination of maize-DDGS in the case of both plant and animal protein sources (Figure 2).
Pairwise comparisons of the contribution margins achieved per m² among the experimental treatments yielded similar results. Higher contribution margins were achieved with the sorghum-DDGS combination compared to the maize-DDGS treatment in groups fed starter diets containing plant and animal protein sources (Figure 3), (the contribution margin was calculated by adjusting revenue for feed costs).
Since the combined use of sorghum and DDGS had no statistically significant effect on production results, while also yielding higher contribution margins compared to the control groups in the groups fed starter diets with plant protein sources and even one of the animal protein concentrate groups, we can conclude that both raw materials can be incorporated safely and with economic efficiency into broiler chicken diets. Both of the above ingredients contributed to the reduction of feed costs and the improvement of contribution margins, thus improving both the efficiency and the profitability of production. This means that sorghum and DDGS are well suited for use in future nutritional strategies.
Trial No 2
In another trial we looked at the effect of replacing maize with sorghum on the performance of Cherry Valley Medium broiler ducks (n=300/treatment) at various crude fibre levels. During the 37-day fattening period we used Starter I (0-7 days of age), Starter II (8-14 days of age) and Grower (15-37 days of age) diets with 4, 5, 6 and 7% crude fibre contents, and replaced all the maize (Starter I. 30-35%, Starter II. 35-40% and Grower 40-45%) with sorghum.
Our results showed significantly higher end weights for the sorghum treatment compared to the control group fed maize in the case of the diet with 7% crude protein content (p<0.05). Statistically significant differences were not observed between the sorghum and the maize groups for diets containing 4, 5 and 6% crude fibre (Figure 4).
By replacing maize with sorghum, feed conversion rates were significantly decreased in diets with 6% and 7% crude fibre (p<0.05). Statistically significant differences were not observed between the sorghum and the maize groups for diets containing 4 % and 5% crude fibre (Figure 5).
Pairwise comparison of the feed costs per 1 kg live weight revealed that sorghum lowered costs in diets with 4%, 6% and 7% crude protein, while feed costs were the same for diets with 5% crude protein (Figure 6).
Pairwise comparisons of the contribution margins achieved per m² among the experimental treatments revealed that sorghum groups had higher contribution margins compared to maize groups when fed diets with higher (6% and 7%) crude fibre content.
Overall, based on production performance indicators, it can be concluded that the use of sorghum as a replacement for maize in the diet of broiler ducks did not affect production performance at lower crude fibre levels, while at a higher crude fibre level (7%) it had a positive effect, reducing feed costs and increasing the contribution margin compared to diets containing maize.
Conclusions and recommendations
The results of our trials confirmed that DDGS as an industrial by-product and sorghum as an alternative feed ingredient can be successfully used in the nutrition of broiler chickens and broiler ducks. Based on fattening performance, these ingredients provided production outcomes comparable to those of conventional (wheat–maize–soybean-based) diets, while providing superior economic performance in terms of contribution margin. The use of DDGS not only broadens the range of available feed raw materials but also contributes to the implementation of sustainability and circular economy principles. Regarding sorghum, our experimental findings indicate that it is suitable for replacing up to 100% of maize in poultry diets. Overall, the evaluated feed ingredients represent promising and justified alternatives in poultry nutrition from the perspectives of circular economy and adaptation to climate change.
Dr. Anita Juhász
Product manager
Bonafarm-Bábolna Takarmány Ltd.
Péter Kovács
Agricultural economist
