TIFTON, Ga. — Georgia is the No. 1 producing state for broilers and peanuts and ranks 6th in egg production. In recent years, the Georgia Peanut Commission has funded research conducted by Dr. Ondulla Toomer with the United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service examining the use of unblanched high-oleic peanuts as a preferred alternate feed ingredient in layer and broiler diets.
These feeding trials have resulted in premium quality, nutritionally enriched poultry products.
“The Southeast leads the nation in peanut and poultry production. However, the need for poultry feed rations far exceeds the ability to produce these ingredients regionally,” Toomer says. “Thus, the use of peanuts in poultry feed ingredients may serve to enhance the nutritional quality of the chicken breast that’s produced, as well as the eggs, while also supporting greater sustainable community focused agriculture.”
Over the last eight years, Toomer has conducted seven layer hen high-oleic peanut feeding trials, five broiler high-oleic peanut feeding trials and one fish high-oleic peanut feeding trial. More specifically, Toomer’s research has focused on total or partial replacement of soybean meal with unblanched high-oleic or conventional normal-oleic peanuts at various inclusion levels between 5%, 10%, 15% or 20%.
High-oleic peanut supplementation (10% to 20%) consistently improved hen performance and enhanced egg nutritional quality, with improved yolk color, and over 20% to 30% higher levels of unsaturated fatty acids and 50% more beta-Carotene (pre-vitamin A), with 19% lower saturated fat levels as compared to conventional eggs. Inclusion rates of 10-20% reduced feed consumption, improved feed efficiency and performance without compromising egg quality.
Chicken breast from broilers fed a 10% high-oleic peanut corn/soy supplemented diet were enriched with 56% increased levels of unsaturated fatty acids and 25% less saturated fats as compared to conventional poultry meat. However, feed conversion ratio, carcass weights and cut-up components were smaller in birds fed the high-oleic peanut supplemented diet when compared to the conventional diet fed to birds.
Peanut-based diets resulted in zero mortalities and supplied dietary protein and energy, improving the nutritional value of eggs and poultry meat and enhancing feed stability through reduced rancidity and extended shelf life as compared to conventional poultry feed.
Moreover, consumers benefit from improved nutritional quality of eggs and poultry meat with higher concentrations of unsaturated fatty acids, reduced levels of saturated fats and the potential enrichment of eggs with pre-vitamin A.
