Evaluation of glycern, a by-product from the biofuel, Industry as a feed additive for free range Chickens

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Date
2012
Authors
Tembo, John
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Publisher
The University of Zambia
Abstract
The overall objective of this study were to evaluate glycerin, a by-product from the biofuel industry, as a feed additive for free range chickens, whereas the specific objectives were to determine the growth rates and the feed intake of free range chickens from the use of glycerin as a feed additive. Free range chickens are indigenous chicken breeds living in close contact with human communities. These chickens are often kept by rural small holder farmers and their presence yields a number of advantages for rural households. In the recent years, small holder farmers have been in an economic fight over maize which is used for the production of millions of gallons of biodiesel. Glycerin is less toxic when used in poultry and pig rations. The LD50 for toxicity in rats is 12, 600 mg/Kg and 8, 700 mg/Kg for mice. The use of glycerin as a feed additive for free range chicken rations would help large scale farmers take up the production of free range chickens rather than leaving it in the hands of small holder poultry farmers, who lack adequate resources to produce on a large scale. This study was done in an attempt to increase the performance of free range chicken in terms of growth rates using glycerin, a by-product from the biofuel industry as a feed additive. The other reason for the study was to encourage large scale farmers to take up the challenge of raising free range chickens for the benefit of fighting bacterial resistance to antibiotics in humans.
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Keywords
Chickens , Poultry , Chicken--Breeds , Poultry--Feeding and Feeds
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