Treatment of Animal Feeds with Ionizing Radiation II: Effects of Gamma Radicidation on the Biological Value of Poultry Feed

Poultry is a major local meat source which is often contaminated with salmonella. A major source of contamination was found to be salmonella-infected poultry feed. Since gamma radiation at doses of up to 1 Mrad reduced salmonella populations in feed by 6 to 7 logs, this study was undertaken to determine if radicidized poultry feed can be used as a step in reducing contamination of poultry without affecting breeder flock performance and longevity. Two breeder flocks, each comprising 300 hens and 50 roosters, were kept in separate coops. One flock was fed untreated feed, while the feed of the other was radicidized at 1 Mrad, which resulted in a level of less than 10 enterobacteria per gram. The flocks Were studied for over 12 months, from the emergence of chicks to the end of 6 months of egg production. The quantity of feed supply was controlled to ensure early detection of detrimental effects on the biological value of the feed. For the first 8 weeks, when the feed was freely supplied, no differences were observed in feed utilization or growth. After limited feeding was started, no significant differences were observed in feed utilization and in total amount of feed consumed. The number of fertile eggs, the feed consumption per egg, the age at which the first egg was laid, mortality and the total weight after 22 weeks and 12¼ months were practically equivalent in both flocks. Chicks obtained from both flocks showed no significant differences in weight or in feed utilization. (author)