Extruded mixtures of spent hens and soybean meal

摘要

Utilization of spent hens is a major concern for the poultry industry. Conversion of spent hens into feed may add value to this abundant agricultural resource. Whole spent hens were ground, blended with defatted soybean meal at ratios (w/w) of 25:75, 50:50 or 75:25, and processed with an Insta Pro 2000R extruder. Extrusion reduced (P 0.05) crude protein content of extrudates (51.9 to 52.2 d.b.). Pellets prepared from dried extrudates were evaluated for unit density, durability, and color Unit density ranged from 17.3 to 24.4 kg/m{sup}3 and was not affected (P > 0.05) by blend formulation. Pellets from all three extruded blends had high durability (85.0 to 98.2) due to the good binding properties of meat and soy proteins. Pelleted extrudates from mixtures of 75 spent hens and 25 soybean meal were darker (P < 0.05) (greater +a value), redder (P < 0.05) (greater +a value), and yellower (P < 0.05) (greater +b value) than those containing 25 or 50 spent hens. This likely was due to the dark color of hen blood and offal. A process involving grinding, extruding, drying, and pelleting may be implemented at large farms to convert spent hens, mixed with soybean meal or other dry materials, into a protein-rich feed ingredient.