Nutrient Compostion of Feed-Grade and Pet-Food-Grade Poultry By-Product Meal

W. A. Dozier, III,* N. M. Dale,† and C. R. Dove‡

*Poultry Science Department, University of Georgia, Rural Development Center, PO Box 1209, Tifton, Georgia 31793; †Poultry Science Department, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 36849-5416; and ‡Department of Animal and Dairy Science, University of Georgia, Tifton, Georgia 31793

Primary Audience: Nutritionists and Researchers

SUMMARY

Pet-food manufacturers have specified to renderers the need for poultry by-product meal (PBM) to be manufactured without lower quality by-product fractions, such as feathers and heads, leading to a higher protein product than conventional feed-grade PBM. One result is that nutritionists are faced with greater nutrient variation among PBM sources. Thirty-six PBM samples (26 = feed grade and 10 = pet-food grade) were collected from commercial feed mills during a 3-mo period to assess nutrient composition and its variation. Pet-food-grade PBM had higher protein, less ash, and lower calcium than feed-grade PBM. Amino acid analyses indicated the pet-food-grade PBM had higher lysine and methionine, and the amino acids in pet-food-grade PBM exhibited higher digestibility compared with those in the feed-grade samples. Nutrient variability was more pronounced in the feed-grade PBM.

Key words: animal by-product, feedstuff, ingredient, poultry by-product meal

2003 Journal of Applied Poultry Research 12:526-530

©2003 by Poultry Science Association, Inc. All rights reserved.