CHICKEN FEED: COCOYAM CAN REPLACE MAIZE

Maize - corn has been very expensive and sometimes not available, according to poultry farmers. 

This has been one of the major reasons these farmers are battling for business survival. 

Before the main gist on  how Cocoyam can be used in poultry feed, let me say what I have been saying again and again and again  - highly commercialised crops such as maize that chemical or inorganic elements are used in their production will become less and less productive with time no matter the growth boosters used in growing them. 

If you plant  seeds from such crops and attempt to grow them naturally, it will be so very difficult for them to yield. 

Those using chemical elements like fertilizers, pesticides to grow them will need higher and higher levels of these inorganic elements which are  toxic to boost their growth. 

So such crops eaten as food by humans or fed to animals pose health hazards - they are slow poisons - the accumulated effects of such foods constitute serious health hazards to humans and livestock consumed by people.

So back to Cocoyam GIST 

Cocoyam root meal can be adopted as alternative energy source in poultry feed. 

Also, leaves of Cocoyam can  serve as alternative protein source for livestock, and poultry feeding but they need to be processed by any of these means - boiling, soaking, fermentation or ensillage (sort of drying)

 Cocoyam plant  produces large quantities of protein and mineral-rich leaves during its vegetative period. 

So the leaves can be harvested and processed into livestock feedstuff  that's very high in protein.

 

It is much cheaper than soybean meal, and groundnut cake. But it has been found to contain phytate -an anti-nutrient which limits the absorption of other nutrients given to the livestock  at the same time. The root meal  - the Cocoyam itself also contain anti-nutrients  But any of those simple  preparation processes mentioned above such as boiling or soaking will  deactivate or reduce the antinutrients.

In addition cocociysm root meal  can be roasted and chopped into bits to feed poultry. 

  

Proximate nutrition composition 

0.2 – 1.10% (fat), 

2 – 5% (fibre), 

14 – 23% (carbohydrates), 

390 – 460 mg/100g (potassium), 

24 – 43 mg/100g (calcium), 

79 – 91 k/cal (energy), 

0.3 – 4.8% (protein) and 79 – 110 mg/100g (magnesium).

 Also note that these anti-nutrients affect the absorption of nutrients eaten at the same meal and not the ones eaten hours later. 

So if rearing livestock especially poultry and maize is too expensive or scarce, why not explore Cocoyam? 

Large scale commercial farmers may find this cumbersome but it is doable. But small scale farmers especially those into home farming or gardening and raising livestock can more easily adopt this. 

You can even grow Cocoyam plants for the starchy carbohydrate roots and protein-rich leaves.  As small as my mini-garden is, I am growing some Cocoyam plants in containers -sacks and bucket.

Note that it is not just about saving money but protecting  consumers' health  - a lot of maize in the market contain toxic elements because of the chemicals they have been grown, processed and preserved with. 

If you give your chickens or any livestock toxic food, it's coming back to you

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