The effects of the inclusion of cottonseed oilcake on the production of grower ostriches (Struthio camelus var. domesticus)

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of replacing soybean oilcake meal (SOCM) with cottonseed oilcake meal (CSOCM) in diets of finisher ostriches. The effect of the inclusion of COCM on growth rate, daily feed intake and feed conversion rate of ostriches from 6 months to 13 months of age were investigated. In order to study the production profiles of ostriches in relation to diet, ca 105 animals of both sexes were divided in15 groups and fed five different diets (3 replicates per diet) in which SBOCM was gradually (0%, 3%, 6%, 9% and 12%) replaced by CSOCM. Body weights and feed intake were recorded on a monthly basis throughout the study. Data were analysed with analysis of variance with level of CSOCM as main factor. There were no significant differences in the feed intake (average 1880 g/bird/day) and feed conversion rate (average 7.8 kg feed/kg weight gain) between treatments. The average daily gain of birds was significantly different (P<0.05) between the diet with 0% CSOC and the diet with 9% CSOCM (respectively 219 and 277 g/bird/day) and between the diet with 0% CSOC and the diet with 12% CSOCM (219 and 287 g/bird/day). In a complementary free choice experiment palatability of CSOC containing diets was also studied against the control with no CSOCM. No significant (P>0.05) differences in feed intake were observed between diets with and without CSOCM. It was concluded that diets containing CSOCM can be used safely in ostrich diets if the gossypol (a toxic polyphenol pigment) content were analysed. High levels of gossypol in diets may results in cardiac insufficiency and respiratory distress.