EVALUATION OF CRAB AND CRAWFISH WASTE MEALS AS PROTEIN-SOURCES FOR GROWING DAIRY HEIFERS

In an in situ trial to compare DM and CP disappearance of crab waste meal, crawfish waste meal, and soybean meal and to determine the effect of other dietary components on in situ disappearance of these meals, higher disappearances were found for soybean meal than for crab and crawfish waste meals. Crab waste meal had higher DM and CP disappearances than crawfish waste meal. Diet had no effect on in situ DM and CP disappearances. Twenty Holstein heifers were used in growth and digestion trials to evaluate the effect of feeding the two crustacean meals on performance. Average daily gain, feed conversion, and condition scores were higher for the soybean meal (positive control) than for all other treatments. Response to diets containing crustacean waste meals was equivalent to the soybean meal negative control, which provided 80% of the CP in the other diets. The positive control diet had higher DM, CP and ADF digestibilities and lower ash digestibility than the crustacean waste meal diets. Crustacean waste meals were inferior to soybean meal as protein sources. Modification of these products by processing at lower temperatures, or formulation of diets to include a greater quantity of less available protein or more degradable protein, would be needed to increase the average daily gain to a level acceptable to producers.