Feeding value of rice gluten meal as an alternate protein source in broiler chickens

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of feeding rice gluten meal (RGM) on broiler chicken performance, nutrient utilization, intestine morphometry, and cost economics of broiler chicken production. Two hundred forty day-old CARIBRO-vishal variety of broiler chickens were randomly divided into six treatment groups having five replicates with eight birds in each. The formulated diets, containing different levels of RGM (0.0%, 5.0%, 7.5%, 10.0%, 12.5%, and 15.0%) as soybean replacement, were fed to birds for 42 days. In general, the results revealed no significant effect of RGM feeding on average daily gain and feed conversion ratio, but a significant decrease in the average daily feed intake was observed at 15% RGM level in the diet of broiler chickens. The utilization of dry matter, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorous did not reveal any significant effect of RGM feeding in broiler chickens. Similarly, the carcass traits and intestine morphometric measurements did not show any significant effect of RGM feeding in broiler chickens. However, the cost of production of broiler chickens decreased significantly (-10%) by 15% RGM level in broiler chicken ration. Thus, we concluded that 15% inclusion of rice gluten meal in broiler chicken ration as a protein source is as safe and efficient as soybean meal with better economic returns.