Effects of Three Different Soybean Meal Sources on Layer and Broiler Performance

Soybean meal (SBM) is a major protein source in poultry feeds and one of the best quality ingredients because of the relatively high protein content, good amino acid profile and bioavailability. But soybean meal quality is largely dependent on the processing technology and origins. In this experiment, effects of three different soybean meals were evaluated in layer (experiment 1) and broiler (experiment 2). Soybean meal sources used in the experiments were the US-originated dehulled soybean meal (USDHSBM), India-originated non-dehulled soybean meal (India SBM) and Brazil-originated non-dehulled soybean meal (Brazil SBM). Experiment 1 was conducted during growing and laying periods and evaluated the interactive effects of soybean meal sources according to feeding periods on growth performance and egg quality. Experiment 2 was conducted during growing period (day 1-35) and finishing period (day 35-42). The growth performance was measured for the same periods and any possible interaction between soybean meal origins and crude protein levels was also studied. In experiment 1, chicks fed India SBM utilized feed more efficiently (p<0.05) than those fed Brazil SBM from day 29 to day 42. The body weights of layers during the laying period had no relation to egg production. But egg weights were significantly heavier in all the USDHSBM fed groups than other groups (p<0.001) and depended on feed protein source during growing period (p<0.001). The average egg weight of the USDHSBM fed group scored the highest value (65.4 g), followed by the Brazil SBM fed group (62.1 g) and India SBM fed group (62.1 g). There was an effect of interaction between origins of soybean meal fed group in growing and laying period on eggshell color (p<0.01). Eggshell was significantly stronger in the USDHSBM fed (for growing period) groups than other groups (p<0.05) on 31 week. Haugh’s unit (HU), albumin index and yolk index of the USDHSBM fed group in growing stage were significantly superior (p<0.001) to other groups. In experiment 2, for the 7-week, chicks on the India SBM group gained less (p<0.001) weight than other groups. While daily gain of India SBM chicks was not affected by dietary crude protein level, those of the USDHSBM and Brazil SBM chicks were linearly increased as dietary crude protein level increased from 18% to 20%. The gain per feed ratio of the USDHSBM group was the highest (0.585), followed by the Brazil SBM group (0.568) and India SBM group (0.550) (p<0.01). Therefore, in this experiment, the use of USDHSBM with excellent protein quality and amino acid digestibility could be of advantage to the economic production of layer and broiler. (Asian-Aust. J. Anim. Sci. 2002. Vol 15, No. 2 :