The nutritive value of a sample of dried poultry manure for the laying hen

Synopsis

The composition of a commercially available sample of dried poultry manure (DPM) was determined and its nutritive value for the laying hen was examined using colostomised birds. The true digestibility coefficients of the true protein, crude fat, uric acid, total organic matter and carbohydrate were found to be 64.2, 69.5, 91.2, 25.5 and 23.1% respectively by regression analysis of absorbed vs. ingested nutrients. The true digestibilities of some of the constituent amino acids were found to range from 24.7% (for valine) to 76.4% (for serine). The absorption of calcium and phosphorus was characteristic of the individual bird and ranged from 1.2 to 45.3 % for calcium and from 7.5 to 46.2 % for phosphorus. The classical and nitrogen‐corrected metabolisable energy values were found to be 3.50 ± 0.16 and 3.35 ± 0.13 MJ/kg of dry matter respectively. It is concluded that DPM contains nutrients of value to the laying hen and that it could be incorporated into poultry diets in which energy content is of secondary importance and where use could be made of the calcium and phosphorus contents.