FISH meal has already been established

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1 Meal in Poultry Rations.* III. Laying and Breeding Rations 1 RAYMOND T. PARKHURST AND MARIE S. GUTOWSKA Department of Poultry Husbandry AND CARL R. FELLERS Nutrition Laboratory, Massachusetts State College, Amherst FISH meal has already been established as a very valuable ingredient in both poultry laying and breeding rations especially in combination with dried skimmilk. It was the object of these experiments to compare crab meal with fish meal as a protein concentrate in laying and breeding rations. Manning (1929) conducted a preliminary experiment in the course of which he compared crab meal and meat meal as ingredients in poultry feeds. The total egg production for three months was 1,110 for the group on crab meal and 855 for the one getting meat meal. At the end of the experiment, the hens were in good condition and their general appearance was excellent. The birds on the crab meal diet had slightly better plumage, showed somewhat more vitality and had considerably better appetites. As the meat meal ration contained almost twice as much crude protein as the ration containing crab meal, while the opposite was true as far as ash content was concerned, the author concluded that, in the laying ration, the mineral constituents of crab meal are readily available and that the protein in crab meal * Contribution No. 493 of the Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment Station, Amherst. t This investigation was financed in part by the Blue Channel Corporation, Port Royal, South Carolina, and Schenley Research Institute, Lawrenceburg, Indiana. (Received for publication September 4, 1943) 118] may be in a form more readily assimilated than that in meat meal. Byerly, Titus, and Ellis (1933) fed diets containing various proteins of animal and vegetable origin to determine the effect of the different proteins on egg production and hatchability. Proteins made up from 11.2 to 23.6 of the rations. The protein supplements were meat meal, crab meal (from blue crabs), North Atlantic fish meal, dried buttermilk, dried yeast preparation, soybean meal, cottonseed meal, and a combination of the meat meal, fish meal, and buttermilk. The fish meal ration used by these workers had a crude protein content of while that of the crab meal ration was only The crab meal ration was consumed readily and gave good egg production. The quantity of feed required to produce one gram of egg on crab meal was higher than the quantity required by the birds on fish meal ration. However, the hatchability of the crab meal group was higher. To determine hatchability and embryonic mortality in the eggs produced by hens on these diets, the same three workers fed groups of 10 to 25 pullets the same rations as above over a three-year period. Vacuum-dried North Atlantic fish meal, steam-dried crab meal, buttermilk, a combination of buttermilk, fish meal, and meat meal, and free range were found to produce eggs capable of supporting embryonic life

2 CRAB MEAL IN POULTRY RATIONS. III. LAYING AND BREEDING RATIONS 119 through the second week of incubation in normal fashion. Mangold and Damkohler (1938) reported that fish meal is slightly superior to crab meal in regard to egg production. Fangauf, Brunninghaus, and Haensel (1935) fed supplements of crab meal, shrimp meal, crawfish meal, and fish meal, added to a corn scratch base, in four different rations to laying hens. The crab meal group consumed less of the mash and had a lower egg production than the other three groups. The efficiency of feed utilization' for egg production was also poorest in this group. However, the differences between the groups were so small the authors concluded that crab meal was as good a protein supplement as the others, especially as hatchability was best in the eggs from the crab meal ration. EXPERIMENTAL General Procedure. The pullets were hatched at the same time and each group started with pullets which averaged the same in body weight. They were distributed evenly in all-metal laying cages, each pullet being in an individual compartment. In the laying batteries, two sections of birds of each ration were placed on a diagonal to each other. In this way, environmental conditions were made as uniform as possible. The all mash rations used were complete in that no supplements such as green feed, grit, oyster shells, or pellets were given. The rations were fed ad libitum and running water was continuously available for all birds. The rations were analyzed chemically and the proximate analyses are given (Tables 1 and 3). The hens were trap-nested for individual egg records. The weights of the eggs were recorded each month for four succeeding days. The hens were weighed and thoroughly examined at the start and at the completion of the experiment. The food intake in each group was recorded on a weekly basis, and is given in terms of pounds of feed per bird per month. The feed efficiency indices were calculated as the amount of food required to produce a dozen of eggs. The egg shell breaking strength was tested by TABLE 1.Composition of the rations used in experiment 1 P 3 R rations Supplements: * Ingredients Ground yellow corn 0 Wheat bran Standard middlings Ground whole oats Alfalfa leaf meal (dehy.) Soybean oil meal (O.P.) Dried skimmilk Salt (plain) meal meal Dicalcium phosphate. Plain calcite flour Fort, fish oil (400 D, 3000 A) Moisture Protein Fat N. free extract ' Crude fiber Ash Calcium Phosphorus Manganese Analyses meal meal measuring the pressure in kilograms necessary to break the egg using the apparatus described by Romanoff (1929), and by Gutowska and Parkhurst (1942). The crushing resistance was measured at the large end of the egg. Albumen quality was scored by means of a photographic score of Van-Wagenen and Wilgus (1935). The color of the yolk was judged by the use of the Heiman-Carver (1935) yolk color index. In cases of mortality, the date of last egg, date of death, and cause of death (if known or determined) were listed. The mean values for age egg production,

3 120 R. T. PAEKHURST, M. S. GUTOWSKA, AND C. R. FELLERS eggs per bird, egg weight, and body weight were obtained from data on the birds that survived the experiment. The means for feed consumption and feed efficiency were based on data from all the birds on the experiment and calculated on a hen-day basis. For the fertility and hatchability studies, the hens were artificially inseminated once a week using the method described by Burrows and Quinn (1937). The hatching eggs were set in an American incubator. After 18 days of incubation, the eggs were candled and the infertiles removed. The remainder were placed in the hatching compartment of the incubator. On the twentyfirst day of incubation, the chicks were removed and the of hatch calculated. The age of fertile eggs and the age of fertile eggs that hatched were calculated on the basis of the birds alive at the time of hatching. EXPERIMENT 1 There were two groups with 48 birds each at the start designated P 3 R crab meal and P3R fish meal. The experiment included 12 lunar month periods. At the start of the experiment, the pullets were just reaching their sexual maturity but were not carried through a pre-experimental period. The first period started October 22, 1940, and the twelfth period ended September 23, The rations and their proximate analyses are given in Table 1. These analyses show there were no marked differences in the rations in either crude protein or minerals. The crab meal 1 used in these tests was prepared by drying crab "The crab meal used in both experiments was manufactured and supplied by the Blue Channel Corporation, Port Royal, South Carolina. The fish meal used was a red fish meal manufactured by the Maine Meal Company, Portland, Maine, purchased locally. waste commercially. The fish meal 1 used was purchased locally. It was a red fish meal of high protein quality. The proximate analyses of composite samples of these products, made by the Feed Control Service, follow: meal meal (Sample B) Protein, Fat, Ash, Calcium, Phosphorus, Manganese, p.p.m Iron, p.p.m 1, Riboflavin, gammas/gram A report of the nutritive properties of sample B of crab meal was given in part I of this series of reports (Lubitz, FellerSj and Parkhurst, 1943). Sample B of crab meal also contained 8.48 of moisture and 0.40 of potassium. The riboflavin contents of the crab meal and fish meal used were obtained by microbiological assay. A summary of means for experiment 1 are given in Table 2. Figure 1 shows the monthly distribution of egg production, egg weights, and feed consumption. Egg Production. Table 2 shows that the TABLE 2.Summary of results of experiment 1 Ration P 3 R Mean no. of birds Percentage egg production Eggs per bird (336 days) Egg weight in ounces per dozen Feed consumption per month, lbs. Feed efficiency, lbs. per dozen Gain in body wt. in ozs. Fertility, Hatchability, of fertile Egg shell break, strength in kg. 1 Yolk color index 2 Height of albumen 3 Total mortality meal meal Romanoff (1929) testing apparatus used. 2 Heiman-Carver (1935) yolk color index used. 3 Van Wagenen-Wilgus (1935) albumen chart used.

4 CRAB MEAL IN POULTRY RATIONS. III. LAYING AND BREEDING RATIONS 121 mean total egg production per bird for the crab meal group was and the age egg production to be The comparable results for the fish meal group were eggs and 68.08, respectively. Neither of the groups had a pre-experimental period and this fact accounts for the low egg production results for the first month. The birds in the crab meal group laid 704 more total eggs than those in the fish meal group. On the basis of the eggs laid by the hens that lived, the value for t at 76 degrees of freedom was 2.99 showing the fish meal group to be significantly better than the crab meal group. However, when egg production was computed on a hen-day basis the difference was not significant. As fewer birds died and the egg size was larger in the crab meal group, the total egg production and the weight of the eggs produced was practically the same for the birds on the two rations. Twenty-three birds in each group laid over 200 eggs in the 336 days of the experiment showing egg production in both groups to be very satisfactory. Egg Weight. The mean egg weights for the 12 lunar month periods are shown in Figure 1. From the graph it may be seen that, except for one month, the crab meal group laid heavier eggs throughout the experiment than did the fish meal group. Table 2 gives the average egg weight in ounces per dozen for the experiment. For the entire experiment the eggs from the crab meal group averaged heavier per dozen eggs than did the eggs from the fish meal group. However, these differences were not large enough to be significant. Body Weight. At the completion of the 12 lunar month periods, the average body weights of both groups were practically the same as they were at the start of the experiment. The mean body weight of the crab meal group was 5 pounds and 12 ounces. The corresponding weight for the birds on the fish meal ration was 5 pounds and 13 ounces. Mortality. There was a total mortality of 18 of the 96 birds starting the experiment; 13 birds on the fish meal ration and only 5 from the crab meal group. This is a mortality of 2 7 for the fish meal group and 10 for the birds getting FEED CONSUMED FIG. 1. Percentage egg production, mean egg weight, and feed consumption monthly in experiment 1. the crab meal ration. This would seem to indicate that the weak birds produced poorly on the fish meal ration, and many of them died, while the strong birds produced very well on this ration. Feed Consumption and Efficiency. The feed consumption of the hens is presented graphically in Figure 1 for the 12 lunar month periods. From the graph it is easy

5 122 R. T. PARKHURST, M. S. GUTOWSKA, AND C. R. FELLERS to see that, from month to month, the groups varied but slightly in feed consumption. As a further proof that the feed consumption of the two groups closely approximated each other, Table 2 gives the average feed consumption in pounds per bird over the 12 lunar month period. The average monthly consumption for the fish meal group was 8.88 pounds and for the crab meal group 8.96 pounds. The difference between the groups is insignificant. Table 2 gives the average feed efficiency for both groups during the experimental period. The pounds of feed required to produce a dozen eggs for the crab meal section was 6.27 and for the fish meal group The monthly feed efficiencies were almost equal. Egg Quality. The mean values for egg shell breaking strength, yolk color, and height of albumen are all given in Table 2 and are nearly equal. The fish meal group was slightly better in egg shell breaking strength, and the yolk color of the eggs from the crab meal section was somewhat darker than that of the eggs from the group getting fish meal. The differences, however, are insignificant. The mean height of albumen was the same for each group. The number of internal defects observed for each group were approximately the same. Fertility and Hatchability. The means of age of fertility and the hatchability of fertile eggs are given in Table 2. The mean age of hatchability of fertile eggs for three hatches was 93.8 for the crab meal section. The corresponding result for the fish meal group was 8. The difference is not significant. The mean age of fertility for the three hatches is also given in Table 2. For the fish meal group, it was 91.4; for the crab meal group, The age of hatch of total eggs is about the same. There were 316 eggs set from the fish meal group and 343 eggs from the crab meal group. EXPERIMENT 2 In this experiment, crab meal replaced fish meal on an equal-protein basis and the mineral content of the rations was adjusted. The primary purpose of this experiment was to check the hatching results of experiment 1 using other products in addition to dried skimmilk. Single Comb Rhode Island Reds were used in four groups (I to IV) and Rhode Island-Barred Plymouth Rock sex-linked cross-bred birds in four groups (V to VIII). The Single Comb Rhode Island Red pullets were hatched March 9 to April 20, 1941, and rangereared. The cross-bred, pullets were all hatched March 21, 1941, and batteryreared. All groups were started in the experiment October 1, 1941, and continued for six lunar month periods to March 17, The Rhode Island Red pullets were artificially inseminated with Rhode Island Red cockerels and the cross-bred pullets with Barred Plymouth Rock males. The rations and their proximate analyses are given in Table 3. There were no marked differences indicated by chemical analysis. Details of. procedure were the same as for experiment 1. The analytical and assay results of certain ingredients used are given in Table 4. Sample C crab meal was a composite sample of several bags of each shipment from the Blue Channel Corporation. The distillers' dried solubles and the distillers' dried grains and solubles were supplied by the Schenley Research Institute. The fermentation solubles and the other ingredients were purchased locally. Results of experiment 2 are summarized in Table 5. Egg Production and Egg Weight. There were no significant differences in egg production between the Rhode Island Red groups I to IV or between the combined fish meal and the combined crab meal groups. This was also true in the case of

6 ^RAB MEAL IN POULTRY RATIONS. III. LAYING AND BREEDING RATIONS 123 TABLE 3.The composition of the rations used in experiment 2 Group no. P 3 R rations Supplements: Ingredients Ground yellow corn Wheat bran Ground whole oats Special steam bone meal Alfalfa meal (dehy.) Fort. F.O. 400D, 2.000A Plain salt Standard middlings Soybean oil meal Dried skimmilk meal Plain calcite flour Grains with solubles Dist. dried solubles Fermentation solubles meal Moisture Protein Fat N-free ext. Crude fiber Ash I Grains II Grains. ' the cross-bred groups V to VIII and the combined groups getting fish meal and crab meal, respectively. The groups getting rations containing crab meal were as productive as those receiving rations containing fish meal. The weights per dozen of eggs did not appear to be influenced markedly by the rations fed, and crab meal rations compared favorably with the fish meal rations in the size of eggs produced. Body Weight and Mortality. The gains Ingredient meal (Sample C) meal (Maine) Dried skimmilk Distillers' dried solubles Distillers' dried grains with solubles Fermentation dried solubles Alfalfa meal 3 III Ferm IV Ferm. 2: Analyses V Dist. Dr VI Dist. Dr., VII Milk 2, VIII Milk " in body weight were similar in the groups getting fish meal and crab meal. The group getting fermentation solubles and crab meal averaged to gain only 5 ounces per bird while the group getting distillers' dried grains and crab meal gained an average of 21.3 ounces each. Mortality was less in the crab meal groups than in those getting fish meal and was higher in the cross-breds than in the Rhode Island Reds. Feed Consumption and Efficiency. The Fat N. free Ext Crude fiber! 9.28' Ash Calcium , Either a composite or two or more samples were assayed. 2 See part I of this paper for discussion of the nature of "crude fiber" incrab meals. 3 The vitamin A content was equivalent to, 136,080 International vitamin A units per pound , TABLE 4.--The analysis of certain ingredients used in experiment 2 Moisture Protein Phosphorus Man- -"ganese , P.P.M.- Riboflavin 1 gamma per gram ,7.8, , , ,6.5 62,

7 124 R. T. PAEKHUEST, M. S. GUTOWSKA, AND C. R. FELLERS feed consumption data did not indicate that there was any difference in palatability or in the number of pounds of feed required to produce a dozen eggs. The monthly feed consumption per bird was about 8j4 pounds, and the feed efficiency was about 6 pounds. Egg Quality. The egg shell breaking strength was good in all groups and varied Group No. P 3 R rations: Supplements: Mean no. of birds Percentage egg production Egg weight in ozs. per dozen Feed consumption per mo. per bird Feed efficiency Gain in body wt. in ozs. Fertility, Hatcbability, of fertile eggs Eggshell breaking strength in kg. 3 Yolk color index* Height of albumen 6 Total mortality i Rhode Island Reds. 2 Cross-breds. 3 Romanoff (1929) testing apparatus used. 4 Heiman-Carver (1935) yolk color index used. 6 Van Wagenen-Wilgus (1935) albumen chart used. p Grains TABLE 5.Summary of results of experiment 2 IP Grains IIP Ferrri IVi Ferm I & IIP II&IV Combined Combined meal groups. The age hatch of fertile eggs was very good in all four groups. There was a significant difference between the fish meal group.v and the crab meal group VI. Although the group getting dried solubles and crab meal averaged 80 of fertile eggs, of the fertile eggs from the group getting dried solubles and fish meal hatched. When the two cross- only between 3 and 4 kilograms. The yolk i bred groups getting fish meal and the two color index was quite uniform at 14 to 15. getting crab meal were compared, the dif- In the height of albumen as well there was 3 ferences were not significant. no- consistent indication that egg quality i was influenced by the ration fed. The best t DISCUSSION and the poorest eggs were from the two ) In part I (Lubitz, Fellers, and Parkhurst 1943) and in part II (Parkhurst, groups getting dried solubles. Fertility and Hatchability. Except in one ; Gutowska, Lubitz, and Fellers, 19*43), the comparison, fertility was higher in the» relatively low gross or supplementary value groups getting the fish meal in their rations.. of the protein of crab meal was reported. Fertility was excellent in group VII getting J When several other protein sources were dried skimmilk and fish meal and exceptionally poor in the two groups getting raphorus in the ration was adjusted, com- used, and the ratio of calcium to phostions containing dried solubles. Except in i mercial crab meal was shown to be a more these two groups, fertility was better when a valuable feed ingredient than the protein fish meal was fed than when crab meal was s quality index would indicate. included in the ration. In the two experiments reported here, There were no significant differences between the four Rhode Island Red groups s a high quality fish meal in production, feed :- crab meal has compared favorably with or between the combined crab meal and fish ti efficiency, and egg quality factors, and, in V Dist. Dr. Solubles VP Dist. Dr VIP Milk VHP Milk V& VIP Combined VI & VHP Combined

8 CRAB MEAL IN POULTRY RATIONS. III. LAYING AND BREEDING RATIONS 125 general, for hatchability. With dried skimmilk or a riboflavin concentrate, crab meal gave at least as good hatchability of fertile eggs as fish meal. Mortality was also consistently less in the groups getting crab meal. It is therefore apparent that, as in the case of growth, it should not be considered feasible to use crab meal as both a protein and a riboflavin supplement when replacing fish meal. However, the excellent hatchability obtained when crab meal was used with dried skimmilk or fermentation solubles indicates that it contains factors of special value for hatchability. Is it possible that the consistently high livability of birds on crab meal rations is more than a coincidence? SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS The value of commercially produced crab meal as an ingredient in poultry laying and breeding rations was investigated in two experiments extending over a period of 18 lunar months. A similar number of com- ' parable birds were fed complete all-mash rations containing crab meal and fish meal on an equal-protein basis and with minerals adjusted. There were no appreciable differences in egg production, feed efficiency, fertility, hatchability, or weight of egg, yolk color, albumen quality, or shell texture between comparable groups. meal is a satisfactory protein concentrate, if adustments are made in the mineral content of the ration, and there are other protein sources. In comparisons in which crab meal replaced fish meal on an equal-protein basis (4 pounds for pounds) in a complete all-mash laying ration, corn dried distillers' grains with solubles, corn distillers' dried solubles, and fermentation solubles (with soybean oil meal) replaced all the dried skimmilk in the ration. For maximum hatchability, there should be assured, in addition to protein, an adequate intake of the factors of the vitamin B-G complex. When adequately supplemented, crab meal has given such excellent livability and hatchability as to indicate that it may contain some factors which make it especially valuable as an ingredient in both laying and breeding rations. ACKNOWLEDGMENT The assistance of Mr. Philip Smith and Mr.. Emery J. Jefferson is gratefully acknowledged by the authors. REFERENCES Burrows, W. H., and J. P. Quinn, The collection of spermatozoa from the domestic fowl and turkey. Poultry Sci. 16: Byerly, T. C, H. W. Titus, and N. R. Ellis, Production and hatchability of eggs as affected by different kinds and quantities of proteins in the diet of laying hens. Jour. Agr. Res. 46:122. Fangauf, Brunninghaus and Haensel, 193S. Garnelen Langusten und Wollhandkrabbenmehl als Eiweissfutter bei Legenhennen. Archiv fiir Gefliigeekunde 9:359. Quoted by Mangold and Hock (1938). Gutowska, M. "S., and R. T. Parkhurst, Studies in mineral nutrition. I. The manganese requirement. Poultry Sci. 21: Heiman, V., and J. S. Carver, The yolk color index. U. S. Egg and Poultry Magazine, August, 1935: Lubitz, J. A., C. R. Fellers, and R. T. Parkhurst, 1943, meal in poultry rations. I. Nutritive properties Poultry Sci. 22 : Mangold, E., and H. Damkohler, Wollhandkrabbenschrot als Eiweissfutter fiir das Geflugel. II. Die Eignung des Wollhandkrabbenschrotes als Eiweissfutter fur die Kukenaufsucht. Archiv fiir Gefliigelkunde 12: Manning, J. R., scrap versus meat meal in poultry feeding. U. S. Bur.. Memo. S pages. Parkhurst, R. T., M. S. Gutowska, J. R. Lubitz, and C. R. Fellers, meal in poultry rations. II. Chick and broiler rations. Poultry Sci. 23 : Romanoff, A. L., Study of the physical properties of the hen's egg shell in relation to the function of the shell secretory glands. Biol. Bull. 56(5) :3Sl-356. Van Wagenen, A., and H. S. Wilgus, The determination and importance of egg white quality. Jour. Agr. Res. 51: