Bapak Agoestin – by email

So far, I use a mixture of corn feed ingredients, concentrate, pollard, and Bran. But the share of Bran is above 30%. Does the mixture affect chicken weight and egg production?

Answer :

Thank you Mr. Agoestin for the question submitted. Unlike the bran which is the outer layer of rice seeds, bran is the result of the second penyosohan which contains the inside of the rice seed and some starchy endosperm. Bran is physically finer than Bran because the crude fiber of Bran is lower. The use of Bran as a raw material in chicken feed is commonly used because it contains a source of metabolic energy and high amino acids. Here is the nutritional content of rice bran.

Penggunaan bekatul dalam pakan ayam perlu dibatasi yaitu maksimal 10% untuk ayam petelur fase starter dan maksimal 30% untuk ayam petelur fase grower-layer. Namun, batasan ini dapat lebih rendah dari standar apabila kualitas bekatul kurang baik (serat kasar >7,5% dan protein kasar <10%). Berikut beberapa saran yang dapat dilakukan.

Bran quality control

High crude fiber resulting in the content of other nutrients such as crude protein to be reduced. In addition, an excess of coarse fibers leads to a decrease in feed consumption and digestibility. The lower the consumption and digestibility of feed resulting in nutritional deficiencies resulting in the risk of weight loss and egg production. Some conditions that cause high coarse fibers such as the type of rice, rice milling process and the presence of foreign contamination such as husks.

The simplest way to determine the quality of Bran is the handheld test method. It's a good idea, when it's dry, it will dry out. While low quality Bran mixed with husks, do not clump/blend when grasped. Another simple method that can be used is the buoyancy test (a good Bran sinks perfectly). While other tests that can be done as a test phloroglucinol (high coarse fiber: red) and proximate test in MediLab.

Perform feed reformulation

In addition to the presence of high crude fiber, Bran and pollard it also contains antinutrients, namely harmful phytic acid. The effect of phytic acid in feed is to decrease the absorption of phosphorus and amino acids in the digestive tract of chickens. The high content of phytic acid in Bran and pollard closely related to coarse fibers. The higher the coarse fiber, the higher the level of phytic acid. Looking at the fact of quality and the presence of antinutrients in the field, the advice we can give is to use a maximum of 15% Bran if the quality is good and without the use of pollard. When using pollard Bran was reduced in proportion to 10%. It is necessary to add enzymes such as Betterzym to break the bonds of phytic acid and phosphorus.