Recipient Organization
WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY
886 CHESTNUT RIDGE RD RM 202
MORGANTOWN,WV 26505-2742
Performing Department
Animal & Veterinary Science
Non Technical Summary
Poultry is the number one animal protein consumed in the United States and the number one agricultural commodity of West Virginia. Feed and feed manufacture comprise approximately 70% of the cost of production. All meat-type poultry are fed pelleted diets. The variables used in the pelleting process i.e. steam temperature, conditioning time, length and diameter of the pellet die, production rate, etc., can affect pellet quality, feed hygieincs, and nutrient availability. Understanding the appropriate variables to use in the pelleting process will allow for more efficient production of safe poultry products with decreased environmental impact. West Virginia University has been a leader in feed manufacture research over the last 17 years. In 2018, a one-million-dollar investment was completed to further update the pilot feed mill. West Virginia University is uniquely positioned to accomplish the goals outlined in this proposal. Data generated from this proposal will change the process that commercial and integrated feed mills produce pellets. This change will ultimately decrease the cost of production, reduce feed requirements and subsequent animal waste produced, and increase safety of poultry products.
Animal Health Component
80%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
20%
Applied
80%
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
Goal: The goal of this project will be to provide feed manufacture recommendations on how to create pellets of high quality that reduce pathogens associated with ingredients and maintain high nutrient availability. Objective:- Conditioning time, conditioning temperature, throughput, ambient considerations that will create pellets of high quality.- Conditioning time, conditioning temperature, throughput, ambient considerations that will create pellets with reduced pathogen load relative to inoculated mash.- Conditioning time, conditioning temperature, throughput, ambient considerations that will create pellets of high nutrient availability.o Digestible amino acid concentration o Exogenous feed enzyme retention
Project Methods
Methods: Studies will be conducted with detailed exploration of feed manufacture variables on the three identified effects of feed manufacture: pellet quality, hygienics, and nutrient availability as per normal procedures developed in the WVU feed manufacture laboratory over the last 17 years. In addition, comprehensive studies will be conducted that utilize data obtained from smaller scale, individual effect studies, to understand variable effects on pellet quality, hygienics, and nutrient availability simultaneously. Replicated feed manufacture, microbiological enumeration, in vitro activity, and in vivo digestibility will be utilized.Feed Manufacture methodology and hygienics example:A basal diet was formulated using AgriStat data as a nutrient reference for growing broiler chickens. A master batch of 1,360.8 kg was created and then split into three replications of 453.6 kg. This was then split again into two 226.8 kg batches for the two dietary treatments to be manufactured each day. From each 226.8 kg batch, 21.5 kg of feed was collected to be inoculated with Enterococcus faecium inoculum broth. All feed was manufactured at the West Virginia University pilot feed mill located in Morgantown, West Virginia. A California Pellet mill conditioner, hygieniser and 40 HP California Pellet Mill were used for conditioning and pelleting, where pellets were extruded through a 4.7 x 38 mm pellet die. Production rate was constant at 1.2 MT/hr among all replications of manufacture. One allotment of basal diet, 204 kg, was conveyed to a surge bin above the conditioner, and used to obtain and maintain desired conditioning temperature of 70°C for standard pelleting and 80°C for more thermally aggressive pelleting. After the desired temperature had been achieved and the feed probe sensor in the back of the surge bin above the pellet mill was exposed, 22.8 kg of inoculated feed was added into the surge bin to be pelleted. This was done when the probe was exposed to ensure the right samples would be collected and to prevent the system from shutting down and losing the desired conditioning temperature.Standard pelleting runs had the hygieniser turned off so no additional jacketed heat was applied to the feed as there is no way to bypass the hygieniser in this feed manufacture system. More thermally aggressive pelleting had the hygieniser turned on, so the mash feed was exposed to additional heat for another 45 seconds after initial conditioning for 30 seconds. Conditioner, hygieniser temperature, and pellet mill motor amperage were recorded using a Beta Raven programmable logic control (PLC) system. Two minutes after the inoculated feed was added into the surge bin, pellet samples were collected directly post extrusion from the pellet die. This technique ensured that pellet samples were from the inoculated feed. Pellet samples were placed on cheesecloth on top of a large agriculture fan that pulled ambient air across the pellets for a standardized time of 12 minutes to allow the pellets to cool and dry. This follows methodologies from Reese et al., that limits potential nutrient segregation effects of post pellet auguring. In addition, a portion of pelleted sample was assayed for hot pellet temperature using an insulated container to catch pellets, then immediately closing the lid, and inserting a thermocouple thermometer with an 80PK-24 temperature probe.After the 12-minute cooling and drying period, a 500 g portion of the pellet sample was placed in a Whirl-Pak bag and flash frozen in liquid nitrogen to maintain bacterial integrity. Following flash freezing, samples were stored at -80°C until Enterococcus faecium analysis. Additional pellets sampled from the cooler deck were assayed for pellet quality.Approximately 24 hours post-pelleting, pellet quality was determined utilizing a New Holman pellet tester (NHPT). A pelleted sample from each treatment was sifted using a No. 5 W.S. Tyler testing sieve. One hundred grams samples of sifted pellets were placed in the NHPT perforated chamber, where forced air was applied for 30 seconds and the remaining pellet samples were weighed and recorded as a percentage to determine pellet durability. Pellet quality analyses were conducted in triplicate for each treatment and results reflect average pellet durability.Live Performance methodology example:All birds were fed a common starter (formulated to contain 3,075 kcal/kg of AME; 23.06% CP; 1.25% Lys; 0.90% TSAA; 0.81% Thr; and 0.45% available P) and grower (formulated to contain 3,100 kcal/kg of AME; 20.75% CP; 1.14% Lys; 0.82% TSAA; 0.74% Thr; and 0.42% available P) ration from 0 to 28 d. The feed was provided to the birds from 0 to 14 d of age in crumbles, and from 14 to 28 d as pellets. On d 28, the grower phase feed was removed, all pens were equalized (12 birds/pen; 720 birds total; 0.09 m2/bird), and feeding of the 6 experimental finisher diets (3 CT × 2 MAF) commenced. The experimental diets were fed from 28 to 42 d and provided to the birds in crumble form to eliminate feed form effects on bird performance. Each treatment was replicated 10 times for a total of 60 experimental units. Treatments were blocked according to location within the house. Feed and water were provided for ad libitum consumption.All birds in each pen were weighed collectively at the beginning (d 28) and end of the finisher phase (d 42). Feed consumption and mortality were monitored throughout the experiment and FCR was corrected for the weight of mortality birds. All procedures were approved by the West Virginia University Animal Care and Use Committee.It is important to note that none of the feed was sterilized before inoculation. A 21.5 kg feed allotment was placed in a Triumph paddle mixer, where five percent (wt/wt) (1.3 kg) inclusion of inoculum was applied to the feed and allowed to mix for five minutes. This provided a 22.8 kg treatment that would be added back to an untreated 204 kg of basal diet to achieve the total 226.8 kg experimental unit for each treatment. After mixing, mash samples (~500 gram) were collected in Whirl-Pak bags and submerged in liquid nitrogen to maintain bacterial integrity and stored (-80°C) until analysis. The remaining inoculated feed was transferred to the West Virginia University pilot feed mill to be pelleted.Enumeration methodolgy is detailed in the attachment.Nutrient digestibility methodology example using cecectomized roosters:Precision feeding methods were followed as described in previous publications. Briefly, feed samples retained from were weighed into 30-g samples and randomly assigned or precision fed to 1 of 24 cecectomized roosters. Cornstarch (30 g) was precision fed to an additional 4 cecectomized roosters to serve as a nitrogen-free control. For 48 h after precision feeding, excreta were collected, dried, weighed, and ground before being submitted with feed samples to a laboratory for amino acid and nitrogen determination. During the progression of this project, abstracts and publications will be generated to deliver science based knowledge to the target audience. The acceptance of publications and invitations to speak at regional, national, and international meetings will be indicators of success.