Betagro experiments with animal feed from feathers

//12 Jul 2011
Betagro Science Center Co has teamed up with the Agricultural Research Development Agency and Kasetsart University to develop keratines enzymes that use chicken feather waste to produce animal feed, the Bangkok Post reports.
The development will help the company, a unit of Betagro Group, to utilise its large volume of feather waste effectively and reduce the import of keratines enzymes, a high-protein supplement.

Approximately 6,000 tonnes of feathers are released from chicken slaughterhouses around the country from processing of up to 950 million birds a year.

The group, one of Thailand's largest chicken producers and exporters, produces about 1,200 tonnes of feather waste each year, said Rutjawate Taharnklaew, the general manager of Betagro Science Center Co.

Enzyme imports
The group had been spending about 10 million baht (€233,000) annually to import the enzyme, and demand is growing after the European Union banned the use of antibiotics as a growth promoter in animal feed.

A research team headed by Assoc Prof Sunee Nithisinprasert of Kasetsart will carry out the project at a pilot plant with a capacity to produce 500 litres of enzymes.

Feasibility study
The team including Dr Rutjawate will conduct a feasibility study for commercial production and the possibility of producing the enzymes in liquid or dried form to sustain the quality of the substance.

According to KU research, chicken producers can process feather waste for meal under a heating and steaming method with up to 80% of the protein of soybean and fishmeal feed, two more expensive protein sources.

However, this process uses energy and reduces nutrition while producing indigestible feed. The keratines enzyme helps make the feed more digestible while maintaining a high level of protein.