Copra meal or copra flour is obtained from copra dregs. Previously, copra was dried coconut meat. Copra flour can be used for various purposes. One of them is chicken feed. Then, is copra meal good for chickens?
The Nutritional Content of Copra Meal
Copra meal has a lot of nutritional content. Copra meal has a water content of 11%. In addition, coconut cake also contains 20% oil, 45% protein, 12% carbohydrates, 5% ash, 84% BO and 45.5% BETN.
The protein content in copra meal is high, making it material for animal feed. In addition to protein, copra meal also contains very high fiber. So that it cannot be consumed by humans, and in the end, it is given to livestock, one of which is chicken.
Copra meal has a crude protein content of 23%. This benefits animals because it can be used as a source of energy. The addition of copra meal in animal feed will increase feed consumption, livestock weight, and feed digestibility in animals.
The chemical content in copra meal which is eventually used as feed is Mannan. In nature, the content of Mannan can be found in legumes, yeast, and palms. The content of this Mannan also plays a role in the growth of livestock.
Is copra meal good for chickens, or other livestock? Given the high content of mannan and other nutrients.
Benefits of Copra Meal for Chickens
Efforts to utilize copra meal are used as animal feed ingredients. Utilizing the chemical content contained therein, so that it will be of economic value. Various contents of copra meal have been mentioned above.
The content of mannan in copra meal can be used to mix animal feed, especially chicken. It is obtained from three types of food, namely palms, legumes, and yeast.
The content of mannan in the three food ingredients has its characteristics. Mannan in legumes contains beta mannan which functions to bind the element galactose. while the mannan in yeast is alpha mannan.
Mannan in yeast functions as an antibiotic and mycotoxin binder. This is because the mannan in yeast can bind to several types of bacteria and also mycotoxins.
The addition of mannan in feed, which is obtained from copra meal, can maintain feed quality. Stable feed quality will produce a good and healthy digestive system in livestock, especially chickens.
So, it’s been answered, isn’t it, is copra meal good for chickens?
The Use of Copra Meal in Chicken Feed
Copra meal is a waste from coconut management. Copra meal which has a light color usually has better quality than copra meal with a dark color. But generally, the copra meal is brown.
The content in copra meal is that it has metabolic energy of 1540-1745 kcal/kg, with a protein content of 20%-21%. Although copra meal has the advantage of adding it to animal feed, it also has disadvantages.
The weakness of copra meal is that it is easy to get moldy, so it will be toxic to chickens that eat it. In addition, copra meal has a weakness, namely the lack of lysine and histidine content, but high fiber content.
The use of copra meal in animal feed is a maximum of 10% of the total use of rations. However, this can be ignored if the feed is mixed with fish meal and lysine, then 18% of copra meal can be used.
To maintain quality copra meal, store it carefully and try not to use it as a single feed. This is because of the high fiber content and the lack of fulfillment of amino acid needs.
Those are some points about copra meal as chicken feed. By reading the reviews above, it is hoped that you will be able to analyze whether is copra meal good for chickens? Hopefully, the above reviews can help your chicken feed needs.