Quality of Fiber Sources from Agricultural By-Products as Fillers in Poultry Rations

Poultry rations usually contain fillers to increase feed volume without increasing costs. Fillers are generally derived from local ingredients or agricultural by-products that are widely available and relatively cheap. However, the information related to the characteristics and nutrient content is still quite limited. This study aimed to evaluate agricultural by-products as functional fillers in poultry rations. Agricultural by-products used in this study include cassava waste, soybean hulls, koro bean hulls, oil palm fronds, palm empty fruit bunches, and Indigofera twigs. Parameters measured included bulk density, tapped density, crude fiber, NDF, ADF, ratio of NDF-ADF, and hemicellulose. This study used a completely randomized design (CRD) with 7 treatments and 3 replications. Data were analyzed using ANOVA. The results showed that each feed ingredient had significantly different bulk density, tapped density, crude fiber, NDF, ADF, ratio of NDF-ADF, and hemicellulose (P<0.05). Feedstuffs with the largest bulk density and tapped density values are koro bean hulls (411.11 kg.m-3 and 561.99 kg.m-3). Meanwhile, the highest fiber quality is cassava waste because of its low fiber fraction content.