Quimico Farmaceutico

SHORT COMMUNICATION

Pakistan Vet. J., 2006, 26(2): 97-98.

STATUS OF FISH MEAL AVAILABLE FOR POULTRY RATIONS IN PAKISTAN
S. KHATOON, N. Q. HANIF AND N. MALIK Romer Labs. Pakistan, Rawalpindi,Pakistan ABSTRACT A total of 184 samples of fish meal were assayed for proximate composition, pepsin digestibility, salt, acid insoluble ash and chromium. The samples were categorized into four groupsA, B, C and D on the basis of their crude protein contents which ranged from 55-60, 50-55, 45-50 and 40-45% for four groups, respectively. Group A contained 12.50% samples, 46.20% samples were ingroup B, 29.89% in group C and 11.41% were in group D. The results showed a variation in nutrient composition among samples. An inverse relationship was observed between fat, ash, pepsin digestibility,chromium and crude protein contents of fish meal. All the samples were adulterated with slightly higher levels of sand and salt than recommended. Key words: Fish meal, poultry rations, nutrientcomposition. INTRODUCTION Fish meal is an excellent source of protein. It is considered to be one of the best ingredients for broilers and layers rations, as it enhances the feed consumption and feedefficiency (Solangi et al., 2002) and improves the egg production and feed conversion efficiency (Naulia and Singh, 1998). Moreover, it contains all the essential amino acids, especially lysine andmethionine, in adequate quantities required for poultry (Sing and Panda, 1990). The nutrient composition of fish meal can vary depending on the type and species of fish, the freshness of the fish beforeprocessing and the processing methods. According to NRC (1994), protein content of fish meal varies from 60.00 to 72.30% due to type of fish and method of preparation. In Asian countries, fish meal isprepared from mixture of trash fish and byproducts of the canning industry, resulting in a product of very variable composition (LimcangcoLopez, 1985). In Pakistan, annually 40,000- 45,000 tons of fish...