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Fermented Pangasius Catfish Waste Improves Energy Utilization and Nutrient Digestibility in Low-Protein Diets for
Abun Abun1, Kiki Haetami2, Rahmad Fani Ramdhan1
1Department of Animal Nutrition and Feed Technology, Faculty of Animal Husbandry, Universitas Padjadjaran, Sumedang, West Java, Indonesia.
Background:
Low-protein poultry diets require locally available ingredients that preserve nutrient use and digestive function under practical production conditions. Fermented fish-processing by-products may improve feeding value, but evidence for Indonesian super native chickens remains limited.
Objectives:
To evaluate fermented pangasius catfish waste (FPCW) as a local feed ingredient in low-protein diets for Indonesian super native chickens and to identify an inclusion level that optimizes energy utilization and nutrient digestibility.
Methods:
A total of 240-day-old chickens were reared on a starter diet containing 18% crude protein until 5 weeks of age. From Weeks 6 to 10, birds were assigned to six dietary treatments in a completely randomized design with four replicates of 10 birds each. The treatments comprised a low-protein control (15% crude protein), the same basal diet supplemented with 5%, 10%, 15% or 20% FPCW, and a higher protein control (18% crude protein). Samples collected at 11 weeks of age were used to determine apparent metabolizable energy (AME), nitrogen-corrected AME (AMEn), nitrogen retention, apparent dry matter and crude-protein digestibility, selected ileal bacterial counts and digestive enzyme activities.
Results:
Diet significantly affected AME, AMEn, nitrogen retention, apparent dry matter digestibility, apparent crude-protein digestibility, protease activity, lipase activity and ileal Staphylococcus aureus counts (p < 0.05). The 10% FPCW diet produced the highest AME (2948 kcal/kg) and AMEn (2792 kcal/kg) and improved apparent dry matter and crude-protein digestibility to 63.76% and 72.90%, respectively. Nitrogen retention in the 10% FPCW group was comparable with that in the higher protein control. Total viable bacteria and Escherichia coli were not affected by diet, whereas S. aureus counts increased at higher inclusion levels. Lipase activity was greatest at 5%-10% FPCW inclusion.
Conclusions:
FPCW can be incorporated into low-protein diets for Indonesian super native chickens, with 10% inclusion providing the most favourable balance between energy utilization and nutrient digestibility. The response to higher inclusion levels was less favourable, indicating that processing benefits must still be balanced against dietary matrix constraints.
