An Overview of Microbial Fermented Feed and its Impact on the Poultry Industry

The poultry sector typically accounts for approximately 26% of the total meat production in several countries. However, the poultry sector is grappling nowadays with a rising problem of substandard meat production, owing to the usage of low-quality feed for the chicks. Previous studies have indicated to improve the quality of chick feed, however, researchers are still trying to improve the quality of feed by refining its shelf life and nutritional contents. Fermentation of various agricultural products, other than traditional feed, such as rice husk, palm kernel cake, wheat bran, potato pulp, banana peel, corn seed meal is carried out by using bacterial and fungal cultures to increase the production and quality of chicken feed. Although all these additives have the potential to be used as a replacement for traditional feed, nonetheless the main issue lies in the increased cellulose and fiber content. These constraints are being removed by using bacterial and fungal strains, especially those that are reported to have cellulose digestion and various enzymatic activities. Each strain has its own optimized fermenting conditions, such as solid-state fermentation or submerged fermentation, in which it yields its maximum output, before fermenting any feed with a specific microbe. These optimized conditions and techniques must be monitored in order to get the desired upshot. Therefore, this review article focuses on different substrates fermented by a variety of microbial strains along with their effectiveness and their future prospects. Furthermore, this study aims to suggest an alternative resource, which can be used to meet the poultry needs of the increasing population.