The feeding of raw, fermented poultry byproducts: using mink as a model

In this study, the safety of fermentation as a method of preservation of raw animal byproducts used for animal nutrition was tested. Two feeding trials with mink, as a model for nonruminant animals, were carried out. In the first trial mink were given a fermented diet composed of raw poultry and fish byproducts supplemented with cereals, glucose, lactic acid, premix, and starter culture (Lactobacillus plantarum and Enterococcus faecium). These mink failed to deliver kits, and 7 of the 30 females in the test group died. At autopsy no specific cause of death could be diagnosed, although all the dead mink showed symptoms of cachexia. In a second trial, a group of mink kits, during the growth period, was given a diet composed of fermented poultry byproducts, just before feeding mixed with raw fish. The weight gain of the mink in the test group decreased statistically compared with that of the control group, mainly for the male members of the group. From the end of October until the beginning of November, during pelt priming, some mink showed symptoms of severe weight loss. It is suggested that the measured increase of amino acid breakdown, and(or) the acidic pH of the fermented diet, caused these unfavorable results. To examine the effect of the fermented diet on the gut flora, fecal samples were analyzed. The fermented diet changed the composition of the gut flora significantly. In the group that received the fermented diet the number of lactobacilli and the mesophilic aerobic count increased and the number of Enterobacteriaceae and enterococci decreased compared with the control group.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)