Studies on the production of pellet feeds for cattle prepared from shochu distiller's by-product by extruder

The aims of this project were to establish a final technique for preparing pellet feeds for cattle using extruder from shochu distiller's by-product (SDB) (a mixture of buckwheat shochu distiller's condensed solubles and its cake (grains), both wet) as the main material of the pellet feed, together with sub-materials mainly consisting of a mixture of barley bran with hull and beet pulp, on the basis of the results obtained in the previous study (1996); to analyze nutrients (proximate components, minerals and vitamins) of the feeds and their original materials; and to examine palatability of the pellet feeds. An important ecological purpose of this project was to recycle the SDB, most of which has so far been dumped in the ocean, for making feeds. First, pelleting was investigated using ratios of the main material and sub-materials chiefly from 60 : 40 to 70 : 30 and by adjusting the conditions for operating the extruder, and thirteen types of pellet feeds were made. As a result, the ratios of the main materials in the pellet feeds could be enhanced by adding beet pulp to sub-materials. The pellet feeds smelled similar to their original materials and were acceptable to cattle. The water activities of the pellet feeds were around 0.8 and their preservation states were good. After examining the palatabilities of nine pellet feeds (enough amounts for examining were prepared) among thirteen with cattle, the pellet feeds with the ratios of main material and sub-materials such as 60 : 40 (where sub-material consisted of 70 % barley bran and 30 % beet pulp), 70 : 30 and 75 : 25 (where sub-material consisted of 60 % barley bran and 40 % beet pulp) showed the best results. The result indicated that even the feeds containing 75 % SDB can be consumed with high palatability. Proximate analysis of the main material used in the present study revealed that the values of all components were between the values of shochu distiller's condensed solubles and its cake. The pellet feeds containing more than 60 % of main material showed higher crude protein content than those prepared in the previous study. Nitrogen-free extractives were approximately 50 %. Calcium contents of the pellet feeds ranged from 0.38 to 0.43 % and phosphorus contents were between 0.59 and 0.66 %. These values were almost equal to those in orchardgrass and Italian ryegrass and calcium and phosphorus were well balanced. The contents of other minerals (Mg, Fe, Na, K, Co, Se, Cu) in the pellet feeds were almost similar to those in some feed materials usually given to animals without any problems. Vitamins A and D were less than 100 IU/kg. Vitamin E content was almost equal to that of corn (grain) and vitamin B6 was similar to that of sorghum (grain). On the whole, the pellet feeds, which were prepared for establishing the final technique for making pellet feed and showed highest palatabilities, seemed excellent feed for cattle with high protein and highly balanced contents of calcium and phosphor