Effects of inclusion of varying levels of dried Rice Distillers Grains with Solubles on the performance of Vanaraja birds

Abstract

Abstract: Incorporation of unconventional feed ingredients in poultry ration plays a pivotal role in successful and economic poultry production. Distillers Dried Grains with Soluble is now becoming a popular unconventional ingredient for livestock as well as poultry feed due to its high nutritive value and lower price. In West Bengal Rice based Distillers Dried Grains with Soluble (RDGS) is predominantly available. When it comes to feeding Dried Rice Distillers Grains with Solubles (RDGS) to poultry birds, there is no formal recommendation regarding dietary concentration. Hence, the present study was conducted to assess the effects of varying levels of RDGS inclusion on “Vanaraja” chicken production performance. Total 144 numbers of Vanaraja birds were included to conduct the present study. They were divided randomly into three (3) groups (n = 48) with three (3) different dietary treatments that includes Control (C) without inclusion of RDGS, Treatment – I (T1) with 6% RDGS inclusion of the total diet / day and Treatment – II (T2) with 12% RDGS inclusion of the total diet / day respectively. The experiment continued up to 32 weeks of age of the birds. The performance parameters on the basis of body weight (BW) and egg production upto that age were recorded. Result showed that inclusion of RDGS increased body weight of the birds significantly than the group without inclusion of RDGS. Among the two supplemented groups the treatment group II (T2) i.e. inclusion of RDGS @ 12% of the total diet /day was having maximum body weight (2678.37±5.20 g / bird at 32 weeks). The egg production per hen also significantly increased in the supplemented groups than the non supplemented group. So among the two doses of RDGS inclusion, the second group (T2) showed best result. Therefore, it can be concluded from the above study that in rural condition where low quality feed is available to the birds, inclusion of RDGS as a protein source is beneficial to the birds. Keywords: Dried Rice Distillers Grains with Solubles (RDGS), Vanaraja Birds, Production performance