Feather Meal in Hen Nutrition

IT HAS been estimated that sufficient poultry feathers are available in the United States for an annual production of 50,000 tons of hydrolyzed feather meal. As feather meal contains approximately 87 percent protein it has been considered as a possible source of protein in poultry feeds. Wilder (1953) reported that a combination of 3 percent feather meal, 3 percent blood meal and 14 percent soybean oil meal produced growth in chicks equivalent to 25 percent soybean oil meal. In a later report Wilder et al. (1955) showed that feather meal supplying 2.4 percent protein along with an equal amount of protein derived from meat and bone scrap and the remainder from soybean oil meal, alfalfa meal and corn resulted in excellent chick growth. Romoser (1955) showed that 2.5 percent feather meal was a desirable protein concentrate in a broiler feed when adequate amounts of the essential amino acids were present… .