Hydrolyzed Chicken Feather Meal as Protein Source for Red Tilapia (Oreochromis sp.) Aquafeeds

An 84-day feeding trial was conducted to determine the effects of Hydrolyzed Chicken Feather Meal (HCFM) supplementation on the growth, feed efficiency, survival rate and carcass composition of red tilapia (Oreochromis sp). A group of red tilapias (initial weight 24.09 +/- 0.05 g) were fed 3, 6, 9 and 12% HCFM as a supplement and compared to a control group without supplementation. After 84 days, growth parameters such as body weight gain (BWG), average weekly gain (AWG), daily weight gain (DWG), specific growth rate (SGR), feed conversion ratio (FCR), feed efficiency (FE), protein efficiency ratio (PER), survival rate (SR) and carcass proximate of red tilapia were measured. The results showed that HCFM up to 12% could be used as supplementation and showed positive effects on all growth parameters. Supplementation of HCFM above 6% in the red tilapia diet increased the protein and fat content of red tilapia's carcass. The highest survival was found on red tilapia fed 9% HCFM supplementation in the diet. The current study also found that supplementation of HCFM in the diet is possible for red tilapia without impairing growth, feed intake, survival rate or carcass composition. Altogether, the results suggest that HCFM is an optional ingredient which can be used as an alternative for fish meal in aquafeed for red tilapia.