IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2023) 14-2

Research article
erd

Effect of Dry Brewery Residue on the Growth of Local
Chicken (Gallus domesticus)
BUNHOA UK
Chea Sim National University of Kamchaymear, Prey Veng, Cambodia

SOPHEAK HOUN
Prek Leap National Institute of Agriculture (NIA), Phnom Penh, Cambodia

VATHANA THUN
Prek Leap National Institute of Agriculture (NIA), Phnom Penh, Cambodia

TORY CHHUN*
Prek Leap National Institute of Agriculture (NIA), Phnom Penh, Cambodia
E-mail: chhuntory@maff.gov.kh
Received 20 October 2023

Accepted 2 December 2023(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract Residue from the food industry such as dry brewery residue (DBR) has thepotential to replace traditional ingredients used in chicken feed, the costs of which havebeen increasing greatly year by year. The current study is aimed at evaluating the effect ofdifferent levels of DBR in chicken feed on chicken growth. The basic diet was supplemented
with 0% (used as a control), 20%, 25%, or 30% DBR content. The broiler chickens wereraised in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with three replicates, and each replicate
contained ten six-week-old broilers. Experimental results showed that there was no
significant difference in the mean weight of chickens among the four treatments from week
1 to week 5. However, in weeks 6 and 7, the second treatment which applied 25% DBR,
resulted in greater weight gain than the control (0% DBR), the first treatment (20% DBR),
and the third treatment (30% DBR) at P<0.05. Additionally, the intake of feed by chickens
in the second treatment was significantly higher than for other treatments (P <0.05) during
weeks 6 and 7. Taken together, these results suggest that basic feed supplemented with 25%
DBR can promote chicken growth better than other levels of DBR, and this increased
growth is likely promoted by more feed intake.
Keywords dry brewery residue (DBR), local broiler chicken, intake, growth

INTRODUCTION
Animal husbandry plays a pivotal role in contributing to the growth of the agricultural sector.
According to the General Department of Animal Health and Animal Production, Cambodia achieved
USD 5.1 billion in 2021 in the animal husbandry sector, an increase of six percent compared to2020’s USD 4.8 billion (Khmer Times, 2022).
In rural Cambodia, the people’s livelihoods are dependent predominantly on agriculture. Morethan half of all rural Cambodian households keep poultry (IFAD, 2021). Still, Cambodian farmers
who raise chickens face a range of problems, such as slow-growing chickens, disease, markets, andexpensive feed. Feed is commonly imported from neighboring countries such as Vietnam andThailand, costing approximately USD 200-300 million each year (The Phnom Penh Post, 26 July2022).
Poultry production in Cambodia is still a small-scale industry compared with neighboring
countries and the production can be classified into traditional/backyard, semi-intensive small or
medium-scale, and intensive large-scale industrial (Birhanu et al., 2021). About 90% of poultry
production is under the traditional/backyard system that has small flock sizes usually less than fiftyⒸ ISERD

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birds per household (Birhanu et al., 2021). Demand for poultry products has significantly increasedin the past decades and this upward trend is projected to continue (ICEM, 2014; Sun, 2018). Local
bird breeds are the highest in demand in the local market, especially during festivals and celebrations(IFAD, 2021).
Animal feed is one of the most important factors for determining animal growth, quality, andprice in animal chain production. However, the main problem needed to be addressed is to lower thecost of animal feed through the efficient utilization of local input. The current study applied different
levels of Dry Brewery Residue (DBR) discarded by the brewery industry to the chickens’ basic feed
diet and we found that the application of 25% DBR promoted growth better than other DBR inputs.
OBJECTIVE
The main objective of the study is to find out the optimal level of DBR supplemented with the basic
diet that best promotes local chicken growth.
METHODOLOGY
Experimental Location
The experiment was conducted at the Department of Livestock Research Section, Kampong Speu
Institute of Technology (Figure 1) from June 1st to July 12th, 2022.

Fig. 1 Location of the experimental site in Angkom Village, Amlaing Commune,
Thpong District, Kampong Speu Province
The red point indicates the chicken farm (11°48'05.8"N 104°17'29.4" E).

Table 1 Experimental design with 4 treatments and 3 replicates
Experimental Design
Number of Chickens
T0 (control)
T0R1
10
T0 (control)
T0R2
10
T0 (control)
T0R3
10
T1
T1R1
10
T1
T1R2
10
T1
T1R3
10
T2
T2R1
10
T2
T2R2
10
T2
T2R3
10
T3
T3R1
10
T3
T3R2
10
T3
T3R3
10
Note: T stands for Treatment, whereas R for ReplicateⒸ ISERD

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Level of DBR (%)
0%
0%
0%
20%
20%
20%
25%
25%
25%
30%
30%
30%

IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2023) 14-2

Experimental Design
The experiment was designed as a Complete Randomized Design (CRD) including 4 treatments with
3 replicates with each replicate containing 10 chickens (Table 1). Each treatment (referred to as T)
was added with different levels of DBR as follows: T0 (0%), T1 (20%), T2 (25%), and T3 (30%).
The same amount of basic diet including rice bran 10%, broken rice 8%, dietary supplement 42%,
final feed product 18%, brewers Dried Grains 20%, and corn 9% was added to each treatment.
Feeding: First, brewery residue was received from the brewery factory (Khmer Beverages) and was
put in the dryer at 280°C for 45 seconds in order for it to become Dried Brewery Residue (DBR)(Kuleile et al., 2019). Different levels of DBR (as mentioned in Table 1) were supplemented with abasic diet. This feeding method is primarily based on the description by Leang, 2004 with a slight
modification. The feed was provided three times a day starting at 6:00 AM for the first time, 12:00
pm for the second time, and 17:00 pm for the third time (Leang, 2004).
Data collection and statistical analysis: The amount of feed intake (FI), initial weight of chicken,
and weekly chicken growth weight were recorded. All relevant data was analyzed using the Excel
program. One-way ANOVA was performed to compare the quantitative data among the treatments.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Chicken Growth
The current study focused on the growth of local chickens (Gallus domesticus), through theapplication of different levels of DBR. The experimental results revealed that each treatment steadily
increased chicken weight growth from week 1 to week 7 (Table 2).
There was no significant difference in weight growth of chickens during weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5
among the 4 treatments (P>0.05). However, the average chicken weight of treatment 2 (T2) using
25% DBR increased significantly as compared to the other treatment levels tested in weeks 6 and 7(P<0.05) (Table 2). Nevertheless, the application of 30% DBR (T3) to the basic diet showedsignificantly decreased chicken weight as compared with chicken feed with 25% DBR (Table 2).
Hence, these results indicate that the optimal level of DBR for chicken growth is 25%, and anincreased amount of DBR beyond that value led to the reduction of chicken growth weight. This
result is consistent with the previous study in poultry that found that the application of 10-20% of
DBR resulted in better growth of young birds and up to 30% in older poultry (Fasuyi et al., 2018).
Parpinelli et al. (2018) reported that a 10% inclusion rate of DBR in broiler chickens during thefinishing phase maintained a high production performance. In broilers between 12 and 33 days old,
the inclusion rate ranged between 10% and 20% of DBR, supporting acceptable growth and feed
utilization and seeming to favor the development of a well-functioning gizzard (Denstadli et al.,2010). According to the National Research Council (NRC 1994), standard brewers’ ingredientscontain 25.3% protein, 6.3% fat, 92% dry matter, and approximately 2080 kcal/kg of metabolizableenergy.
Table 2 Chicken weight growth during 7 weeks of feeding (g/chicken)
Weeks after
T0
T1
T2
T3
P-valuefeeding(DBR=0%)(DBR=20%)(DBR=25%)(DBR=30%)1702.58 ± 92.4
700.64 ± 47.4
672.25 ± 24.8
695.48 ± 97.8
0.833
2855.80 ± 61.0
860.00 ± 77.5
841.29 ± 48.3
829.33 ± 43.5
0.918
3991.61 ± 32.8
1024.51 ± 97.9
1027.74 ± 61.1
998.00 ± 78.8
0.883
41156.12 ± 97.5
1159.05 ± 43.2
1171.61 ± 73.9
1141.83 ± 28.6
0.970
51302.25 ± 34.9
1326.00 ± 96.2
1389.66 ± 89.3
1317.35 ± 93.3
0.597
61478.06 ± 21.1
1441.33 ± 25.2
*1560.66 ± 25.4
1496.89 ± 45.8
0.041
71532.74 ± 23.1
1554.00 ± 35.1**1680.66 ± 22.9
1518.10 ± 45.1
0.001
Notes: Values shown are each average of 30 chickens (±SD) with 3 replicates.
* and ** indicate significance at the 5% and 1% level, respectively, compared with other treatments at thesame period of feeding, as judged by One-way ANOVA analysis. T is referred to as Treatment.

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Feed Intake Index (FI)The feed intake index (FI) is crucial for chicken weight growth and ensuring economic benefit inpoultry production. To understand whether the chicken gains weight as related to FI, we observe theaverage amount of chicken of different DBR treatments for 7 weeks. Table 3 shows that in the first
week, the FI showed no significant difference among the 4 treatments. In the second week, control(T0), without the supplement of DBR, produced higher FI (P<0.05). However, there was no
significant difference at week 3 (P>0.05) among the 4 treatments. At week 4, the highest FI wasobserved in treatment 2 (P<0.05). From weeks 5, 6, and 7 treatment 2 (T2) (DBR=25%) produced
significantly higher weights than other treatments (P<0.05). These results suggest that younger
chickens showed no clear feed intake among different levels of DBR. However, it is probable thatwhen a basic diet is supplemented with 25% DBR, the chickens consume more feed, a trend that is
consistent with the increased weight of chickens among the group (Table 2).
Table 3 Feed intake index of chicken of different DBR treatments(% of the total amount of diets)
Weeks after
T0
T1
T2
T3
P-valuefeeding(DBR=0%)(DBR=20%)(DBR=25%)(DBR=30%)
1
56.49 ± 7.80
53.61 ± 9.84
43.73 ± 16.0
52.28 ± 8.60
0.250
2**76.73 ± 5.57
52.77 ± 8.22
59.60 ± 11.3
58.20 ± 7.72
0.001
353.68 ± 2.66
60.39 ±12.264.65 ± 9.96
65.27 ± 9.84
0.235
467.81 ± 2.31
81.78 ± 4.17
85.48 ± 4.87**88.08 ± 1.37
0.001
578.04 ± 1.47
81.92 ± 5.29
*85.20 ± 3.71
82.20 ± 4.24
0.011
684.39 ± 3.57
84.04 ± 5.60
*88.87 ± 4.36
80.96 ± 8.12
0.044
785.12 ± 5.82
83.15 ± 6.20**90.13 ± 6.54
78.85 ± 7.78
0.001
Notes: Values shown are each average of 30 chickens (±SD) with 3 replicates.
* and ** indicate significance at the 5% and 1% level, respectively, compared with other treatments at the same
period of feeding, as judged by One-way ANOVA analysis. T is referred to as Treatment.

Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR)
Feed conversion ratio (FCR) is the amount of feed eaten relative to the weight of one chicken. It
plays an important part in determining feed efficiency and production cost. To see whether the
chicken growth is relevant to FCR, we observe the feed conversion ratio of the 13-week-old chicken.
As shown in Table 4, the ratio of FCR seems slightly decreased when the basic diet supplemented
with T1 (DBR=20%), T2 (DBR=25%), and T3(DBR=30%) compared with control T0 (without DBR
supplement) but there is no significantly different among 4 treatments tested. These results suggestthat the optional DBR promoted chicken growth by 25% DBR is not relevant to the ability of feed
conversion but it is caused by the increased intake (Table 3).
The main factors affecting the conversion ratio in poultry include genetics, age, and feed quality.
In the current experiment, we used the same chicken variety and age. Another study reported thatfeed conversion was not significantly different when Ross 308 chickens fed cassava flour mixed with
universal concentration (UC+Cas) gained weight higher than chickens fed a commercial diet
(Jeremiah et al., 2015).
Table 4 The Feed conversion ratio (FCR) of 13 weeks-old chickens
Treatment

T0(control)

T1(DBR=20%)

T2(DBR=25%)

T3(DBR=30%)

P-value

FCR ratio

4.36 ± 0.64

3.71 ± 0.60

3.35 ± 0.59

3.37 ± 0.60

0.186

Notes: Values shown are each average of 30 chickens (±SD) with 3 replicates

CONCLUSIONⒸ ISERD

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This study finds that the optional inclusion of DBR in the basic diet for the better growth of local
chicken (Gallus domesticus) is 25%. This performance of the chicken growth is likely due to feedintake (FI). The result is similar to findings from Fasuyi et al., in which the application of 10-20% of
DBR resulted in better growth of young birds and up to 30% in older poultry (2018). Similarly,
another study demonstrated that the inclusion of 25% DBR only (without basic diets such as soybean,
sunflower, fish milk, and maize) caused a similar effect on broiler growth compared with control(basic diets) (Kuleile et al., 2019). This finding suggests that DBR can be used to substituteconventional protein sources and reduce production costs. Yet, in this present study, further
investigation is required to find different types of basic diets supplemented with DBR and the meat
quality of chicken after taking DBR.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We thank Khmer Beverages for providing the brewery residue for the experiment. We also thank Ms.
Rachel Brown, a U.S. State Department Fulbright Student researcher affiliated with Prek Leap
National Institute of Agriculture for kindly review and English corrections.
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