Use of duckweed growing on sewage water as poultry feed

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International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 5, Issue 1, January 2015 1
ISSN 2250-3153
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Use of Duckweed Growing on Sewage Water as Poultry
Feed
Shazia Iram*, Sumera Abrar*, Iftikhar Ahmad**, Tassawar Khanam**, Atiya Azim**, Mukhtar Ahmad Nadeem**
* Department of Environmental Sciences, Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
** Institute of Animal Sciences at National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), Islamabad, Pakistan.
Abstract- Present study was focused on intake of duckweed by
chicks and to evaluate the growth performance and carcass
characteristics of chicks. A total number of 106 chicks were
allocated to 3 treatments with 3 replicates. The treatments were
categorized into group A (25% duckweed and 75% commercial
feed), group B (50% duckweed and 50% commercial feed) and
group C (100% commercial feed). Results showed that crude
protein was higher in group B followed by group A while in
group C crude protein was lower but total feed intake, average
weight, live weight, meat and bone weight, skin weight, head
weight, liver weight, intestine weight and shank weight were
higher as compared to group A and group B and this was due to
the fluffy nature of duckweed and small size of crop. It was
concluded that sewage grown duckweed can be successfully
utilized as poultry feed. Chicks can survive on duckweed and
farmer can save money. This is the first study in Pakistan.
Index Terms- Bioremediation; duckweed; poultry feed; sewage
water.
I. INTRODUCTION
oultry farming has now become one of the most dynamic
associated parts of agriculture throughout the world. Poultry
culture in South Asian countries is expanding rapidly and the rate
of growth of commercial layer and broiler (meat producing)
farms is phenomenal to meet the ever increasing demand for
proteins through poultry meat and eggs. In Pakistan, poultry
industry had made considerable contribution to food production
and plays a vital role in the economy of the country. Recently
duckweed system was introduced to solve the feed problems of
farmer. Duckweed plays an important role in the extraction and
accumulation of metals from water (Susarla et al., 2002).
Duckweed accumulates excess nutrients into their own biomass
(Boyt et al., 1977) and later be processed into a variety of
products such as poultry feed and fishmeal thereby bringing a
cost recovery aspect into the waste management process
(Hillman and Culley, 1978). The duckweeds (Lemna sp.,
Spirodella sp.) have received the most attention because of their
rapid growth to high biomass, ease of handling and high protein
content as compared to the other macrophytes.
Numerous studies have demonstrated the value of duckweed
as a feed for poultry, fish and other animals (Skillicorn et al.,
1993). Duckweed closely resembles to the animal protein and has
a better array of essential amino acids than the vegetable protein
(Hillman and Culley, 1978). The amino acid profile of
duckweed and soybean is very similar (Rusoff et al., 1980) and
also has a rich concentration of beta carotene and xanthophylls
(Journey et al., 1993). Dried duckweed contains crude protein up
to 40% (Vandyke et al., 1977) and can be compared with
soybean meal as a source of plant protein. Duckweed was used as
feed for poultry because of its high nutritional value (Abdullaev,
1969). Duckweed when dehydrated has been used to replace
alfalfa (Lucerne) meal as a protein source in conventional poultry
diets as it has high protein content 20-40%, low fiber content,
high mineral content, non toxicity and few known pest. The
protein content of duckweed responds quickly to the availability
of nutrients in the water (Leng et al., 1995). Duckweed has been
known for a long period of time as a potential source of food for
humans and animals and as a source of natural products it is the
only source of supplementary protein for fish, chickens ducks
and pigs (Rodriguez et al., 1996). Village pigs, horses or
ruminants could be fed on freshly harvested duckweed. For most
applications with poultry, dried duckweed would be preferable as
it could be expected that duckweed would provide an ideal wet
supplement to any high energy diet (Leng et al., 1995). Aim of
the current study was to utilize the sewage grown duckweed as
feed for poultry for saving the farmers’ money.
II. MATERIALS AND METHODS
Collection of Duckweed
The duckweed (Lemna minor) was harvested from the
wastewater treatment ponds of National Institute of
Bioremediation at National Agricultural Research Center
(NARC), Islamabad, Pakistan. Purpose was to reclaim the
sewage water of main NARC offices building and hostels
through bioremediation for irrigation purposes (Fig. 1). The used
water treatment garden project was started in October 2008 and
finalized in February 2009. Total area was about 0.38 acre. The
used water treatment garden facilitated to treat 35,000 US gallons
per day for irrigation. The toxicity analysis report of the output
water from treatment garden indicated that water was fit for
irrigation.
P

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Fig. 1 Bioremediation ponds for treatment of sewage water.
After collection of duckweed from pond 4 and 5, the
samples were brought in laboratory for analysis and rinsed in
distilled water to remove dust and stored in refrigerator for
further procedure (freezing and drying). There were two types of
duckweed, small leaves duckweed and large leaves duckweed.
Duckweed (Lemna minor) was dried in the air for 30 days
without sun-drying. Small and large leaves were mixed together
and then milled to fine particles after mixed with the commercial
feed (standard diet) (table 1) according to the required
percentages (Khanum et al., 2005).
Table 1. Ingredients of commercial feed of chicks.
Ingredients
Percentage
Ingredients
Percentage
Corn
44.00
Sunflower meal
6.00
Rice
10.00
Marbel chips
0.70
Rice polish
7.00
Dicalcium phos
1.57
Wheat bran
3.90
L-lysine
0.20
C. gluten meal 60%
0.70
Lysine sulphate
0.27
Rapeseed meal
3.00
DL-methionine
0.13
Canola meal
10.30
Sod.Chlorine
0.35
Guar meal
1.00
Threonine
0.08
Soyabean meal
10.30
Phyzyme
0.00
Oil
1.260
Allzyme
0.00
Premix
0.50
In composition of feed, crude protein, dry matter, ether
extract, fiber, ash, gross energy, nitrogen free extract (NFE), K,
P, Na Ca and afflatoxin were examined and in addition small
leaves, large leaves, mixture of small and large leaves and
composition of duckweed and commercial feed after mixing
were also analyzed (AOAC, 1994).
Chicks rearing and dietary treatment
A total number of 106 chicks were procured from
commercial hatchery. Experiment was designed with 3
treatments using 3 replicates each having 11 to13 chicks. These
chicks were raised indoors on deep litter system. The chicks were
kept up to 4 weeks of age. The experiment was conducted during
June, 2010.
In housing, the chicks were provided with 1 square feet space per
bird. Lighting schedule was practiced throughout the experiment
as well as standard brooding and rearing temperature was
maintained.
Fig. 2 Housing system of chicks.

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Water for birds was obtained from a clean source and boiled
to eradicate the contaminants. Water was accessible to the birds all the time in the pens as well as vaccination was also provided
to the chicks (Table 2).
Table 2. Chick’s vaccination.
Days
Vaccination
Nature
Day-01
IB
Eye-Drop
Day-06
ND
Eye-Drop
Day-10
IBD
Eye-Drop
Day-15
HP
Injection
Day-20
IBD
Eye-Drop
Day-24
ND + IB
Eye-Drop
Statistical analyses
Data regarding weight of bird, weight gain per bird, weight
gain per bird per day, feed intake, intake per bird per day and
feed conversion ratio was recorded analyzed with Complete
Randomized Design (CRD) with two factor factorial analysis of
variance by using Minitab software. For significant P-value, least
significant difference (LSD) was determined for mean
comparison at 5% level.
III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Duckweed closely resembles to the animal protein and has a
better array of essential amino acids than the vegetable protein
(Hillman et al., 1978). The amino acid profile of duckweed and
soybean is very similar (Rusoff et al., 1980) and also has a rich
concentration of beta carotene and xanthophylls (Journey et al.,
1993). Dried duckweed contains crude protein up to 40%
(Vandyke et al., 1977) and can be compared with soybean meal
as a source of plant protein. Duckweed was used as feed for
poultry because of its high nutritional value (Musaffarov et al.,
1968). It has great potential as feed for poultry, and has high
moisture content (Leng, 1995). In present study large leaves
duckweed has high dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), ether
extract (EE), crude fiber (CF), N and aflatoxin compared to small
leaves and mixed leaves duckweed. The ash content was higher
in small leaves whereas nitrogen free extract was higher in mixed
leaves of duckweed (Table 3).
Table 3. Chemical composition of duckweed leaves.
Composition
Small
leaves
Large
leaves
Mixture of small
& large leaves
DM
4.62
6.53
3.77
CP
25.30
29.67
24.01
EE
6.91
7.30
1.37
CF
10.73
11.14
10.21
Ca
3.99
4
4.75
P
1.17
0.94
1.16
N
4.04
4.74
3.84
Na
0.67
0.426
1.8
K
1.205
1.225
4.75
Ash
28.03
19.00
23.69
Nitrogen free
extract
32.89
32.89
40.72
Aflatoxin (ppb)
55
76
-
Gross energy
(MJ/kg)
12.31
12.89
12.7
Duckweed was mixed with the commercial feed
categorized into group A, B and C according to composition
(Table 3). The dry matter contents of all groups were almost
similar. Crude protein was higher (22.67 %) in group B while in
group A it was 21.0% but in group C it was very lower (20.65%).

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Table 4. Composition of duckweed and commercial feed after mixing.
Fig. 3a Average weight per bird in different treatments.
Fig. 3b Average weight gain per bird in different treatments.
Fig. 3c Average weight gain per bird per day in different treatments.
Composition
Group A
Group B
Group C
DM
92.41
92.05
92.46
CP
21.0
22.67
20.65
EE
4.54
3.65
5.97
CF
5.57
5.89
4.17
Ca
0.9
1.6
0.4
P
0.82
0.73
0.72
Na
0.12
0.17
0.07
K
0.53
1.23
4.75
Ash
13.18
19.55
7.22
NFE
55.71
48.24
61.99
Gross energy
(MJ/kg)
10.2
12.5
16.175
206
175
204
167
108
265
206
183
323
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
A
B
C
wt (g) gain / bird
wk1
wk2
wk3
wk4
10
13
11
29
25
29
24
16
38
29
26
46
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
A
B
C
wt (g) gain / bird / da y
wk1
wk2
wk3
wk4
107
125
107
313
300
311
481
409
576
687
593
899
0
200
400
600
800
1000
A
B
C
wt (g) / bird
wk1
wk2
wk3
wk4

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The gross energy was higher in group C (16.175 MJ/kg) and
in group A and B it was lower (10.21, 2.5MJ/kg). Crude fiber
(5.89%), calcium (1.60%), sodium (17%) and ash (19.55%) were
higher in group B whereas nitrogen free extract (61.99%) and
ether extract (5.97%) was higher in group C. Gross energy was
higher (16.175 MJ/kg) in group C (commercial feed) and low in
group B (12.5 MJ/kg) and A (10.2 MJ/kg).
In the beginning of study, the weight of chicks in all
treatments was same. During third and 4th week, weight of chicks
was higher in group C followed by group A and B (Fig 3a). In
case weight gain per bird there was no significant difference in
weight during 1st and 2nd week but during week 3rd and 4th week,
weight was higher in group C (Fig 3c). In case of average weight
gain, the weight was higher in group C (Table 5). Similar studies
was conducted by Ngamsaeng et al. (2004) on 24 Muscovy
ducks in order to evaluate the protein quality in water spinach
(WS) or duckweed (DW) alone or mixed (WS+DW) and they
reported average daily gain was highest for ducks fed diet DW
(22.4 g/bird/day) and lowest when fed diet WS (6.2 g/bird/day).
Khang, (2003) found Chicks fed DW had somewhat higher
weight gains (8.3 g/day) compared with chicks fed the diets
without DW (7.8 g/day) but no differences were seen in between
diets with different CP levels. Khanum et al. (2005) reported the
final live weight and average daily body weight gain were
significantly lower in the control diet but were not different
between duckweed diets. Samnang (1999) found in the station,
soyabean supplemented chickens grew faster than duckweed
supplemented.
The growth of very young broiler chickens may be retarded
with increasing levels of Lemna gibba dehydrated meal in the
diet whereas layer hens produced effectively (Haustein et al.,
1990a). The growth of chickens fed duckweed, group A and
group B was less than the group C which consist of totally
commercial feed (P=0.001). It was due to the low intake of
chickens fed duckweed. Duckweed was eaten but the amount
was less because the birds digestive tract adapts to the type and
quantity of food available (Klasing, 1998).
Fig. 4a Feed intake in different treatments.
Fig. 4b Feed intake per bird in different treatments.
1207
3047
1128
3821
1671
3395
3389
6376
4442
6130
3822
6479
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
A
B
C
Feed intake (g )
wk1
wk2
wk3
wk4
98
255
102
310
139
308
275
534
417
478
320
635
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
A
B
C
Feed intake / bird
wk1
wk2
wk3
wk4

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Fig. 4c Feed intake per bird per day in different treatments.
During present investigation it was observed that the crop
size of chicken fed duckweed was enlarged. This was due to the
fluffy nature of duckweed as it absorbs more moisture as a result
of which the crop size become enlarge. Duckweed was eaten but
the amount was less than reported by Nguyen and Brian, (2004).
The birds digestive tract adapts to the type and quantity of food
available (Klasing, 1998). The greater size of crop in birds fed
duckweed may be because of higher intake of fiber. As a result
of which the group A and group B the chickens has low feed
intake and due to this low intake the weight also reduce when
compared to the group C which was offered no duckweed.
Klasing, (1998) also reported that crop capacity increased on
diets high in grass or leaves compared with a diet based on
ground grains. The chickens with access to duckweed tended to
have a lower carcass yield than control chickens, probably
because of higher contents in the digestive tract as indicated by
large size of crop. Mortality rate was very low through out the
experiment only two mortality was seen in the group C d and no
mortality was observed in group A and group B. When
postmortem of chicks were performed it was observed that these
mortalities were not due to any disease but due to a litter which
block the respiratory passage and becomes the cause of death
(Figure 4abc, Table 5).
Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) is a measure of a bird’s
efficiency in converting feed mass into increased body mass. The
smaller the FCR the more efficient birds are at converting feed to
meat. FCR of group B was maximum and FCR of group C was
minimum. So group C with smaller FCR, the birds were more
efficient in converting feed to meat (Fig. 5, Table 5).
Fig. 5 Feed conversion ratio in different treatments and weeks.
Table 5. Average weight/bird, weight gain per bird, weight gain per bird per day, feed intake, intake per bird per day and feed
conversion ratio.
wt/bird
wt
gain/bird
wt
gain/bird/day
Feed
intake
Intake/bird
Intake/bird/day
FCR
A
396
163
23
3637
295
42
1.72
B
356
139
19
3729
311
44
2.2
C
473
216
30
3861
366
52
1.61
At the end of the trail one chicken from each of the
replicate was slaughter and record the weight of different organs.
The chickens with access to duckweed (group A and group B)
tended to had lower carcass yield than control chickens (group
C), probably because of higher contents in the digestive tract as
indicated by large size of crop. As shown in the table 6 the live
weight of group C was very high (1013g) as compared to group
A (811g) and group B (777g). Meat and bone weight was also
14
36
14
44
20
44
39
76
59
71
45
90
0
20
40
60
80
100
A
B
C
Feed intake/ bird/ day
wk1
wk2
wk3
wk4
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
A
B
C
FCR
wk1
wk2
wk3
wk4

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high in group C (473g) compared to group A (383g) and group B
(318g). Skin weight of group C was increased (141g) as
compared to group A (97g) and group B (86g). The weight of
other organs such as head, liver, intestine, gizzard with feed,
empty gizzard, shank was high in the chicks belong to group C.
After group C the weight of organ was high in the chicks belong
to group A and weight of organs was less in the chicken belong
to group B.
Table 5. Mean values for carcass of chicks given duckweed as replacement for commercial feed.
Organ weight (g)
Organs
Group A
Group B
Group C
Live weight
811
777
1013
Meat and Bone
383
318
473
Skin
97
86
141
Head
26
24
32
Liver
23
25
35
Heart
4
6
6
Intestine
74
79
88
Gizzard with feed
32
29
32
Empty gizzard
18
14
17
Shank
33
31
42
Kabir et al. (2005) found that body weight, feed intake, feed
efficiency, protein efficiency, energy efficiency and profitability
linearly declined as the proportion of duckweed increased in the
diet. Duckweed did not affect on livability (P>0.05). The growth
of very young broiler chickens may be retarded with increasing
levels of Lemna gibba dehydrated meal in the diet whereas layer
hens produced effectively (Haustein et al., 1990a). Khanum et al.
(2005) found that the final live weight and average daily body
weight gain was significantly lower in the control diet but were
not different between duckweed diets. Samnang, (1999) found
that Soyabean supplemented chickens grew faster than duckweed
supplemented. Khang (2003) conducted experiment in order to
evaluate the effects of duckweed on the laying performance of
local (Tau Vang) hens and concluded that egg production, egg
quality, feed conversion and net profit are highest when fresh
duckweed replaces 75% of the protein from roasted soya beans in
a diet based on broken rice. Even at 100% of roasted soya beans
replacement by duckweed, the egg production and margin of
income over feed costs were better than on the control diet in
which the supplementary protein came only from roasted soya
beans.
IV. CONCLUSION
Sewage grown duckweed can be successfully utilized as
poultry feed. The intake and growth rate of chicks offered
duckweed was less due to the fluffy nature of duckweed but they
survived. Preparation of duckweed does not require extra labor
cost for growing and harvesting. It can be produced at house hold
level and save farmers money but at commercial level where
weight gain is preferred, duckweed does not perform well as
chicks do not gain much weight. So the duckweed plant from the
wastewater material can be converted into useful product.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors would like to thanks the Institute of Animal
Sciences, National Agricultural Research Center, Islamabad for
allowing the use of their facilities.
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AUTHORS
First Author – Shazia Iram, Department of Environmental
Sciences, Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi,
Pakistan.
Second Author – Sumera Abrar, Department of Environmental
Sciences, Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi,
Pakistan., Email: sumeraabrar75@gmail.com
Third Author – Iftikhar Ahmad, Institute of Animal Sciences at
National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), Islamabad,
Pakistan.
Fourth Author – Tassawar Khanam , Institute of Animal
Sciences at National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC),
Islamabad, Pakistan.
Fifth Author – Atiya Azim, Institute of Animal Sciences at
National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), Islamabad,
Pakistan.
Sixth Author – Mukhtar Ahmad Nadeem, Institute of Animal
Sciences at National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC),
Islamabad, Pakistan.