Comparison of fermented dried blood meal and cooked dried blood meal as protein supplements for growing pigs

In Kenya, protein supplements for use in pig feed manufacturing are usually in short supply. The available supplements are expensive. Blood, a by-product of livestock processing, is readily available and it can be processed into blood meal. Normally, blood from small slaughterhouses is wasted and adds to environmental pollution. Some pig farmers collect blood from these small slaughterhouses and cook it before feeding it to pigs. Fermentation in molasses has also been suggested as an alternative processing method. The objective of this experiment was to compare the value of cooked dried blood meal (CDBM) and fermented dried blood meal (FDBM) as protein supplements for growing pigs. The results indicated that both methods of processing could be applied by small-scale farmers. However, fermentation of blood is superior to cooking because FDBM supported a higher performance than CDBM when they supplied equal N levels especially at higher levels of N supply.