Soybeans are a set of leguminous crops that grow in various regions of the world. They are arable plants that are indispensable in the production and processing of various livestock feeds.
Soybeans or soyabeans, as it is popularly called in Nigeria, has been used for sustainable agricultural practices for centuries. It is used for feeding fishes, poultry, cows, sheep, rams, goats, and other types of livestock.
According to the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), soybeans is one of the most important agricultural crops in the world, because it is grown for its protein and its oil content. The current world production is about 176.6 million tons of soybeans over 75.5 million hectares.
The legume is mainly grown under rainfed conditions but irrigation, specifically supplemental irrigation, is increasingly used. This arable crop is grown under warm conditions in the tropics, subtropics and temperate climates.
Soybeans has become such an important component of industrial production due to its nutritional content. Soybeans contain all three of the macro-nutrients required for good nutrition including complete protein, carbohydrate and fat, as well as vitamins and minerals, including calcium, folic acid, and iron. This makes soybean feeds beneficial to poultry.
Soybeans are also recognized as an oil seed containing several valuable nutrients including proteins, carbs, vitamins, and minerals. Dry soybean seeds contain 36 per cent protein, 19 per cent oil, 30 per cent carbohydrates (17 per cent of which is dietary fiber), 10.5 per cent vitamins and minerals. They also contain two small storage proteins known as glycinin and beta-conglycinin, which aids growth in livestock.
There are over 200 soybean varieties. Aside from maturity and yield, variety selection on resistance or tolerance to disease, other specialty soybeans include varieties with low saturated fat, high oleic acid, high isoflavone, high stearate, high sucrose, or high protein.
Soybeans offers tremendous benefits to poultry, which includes proper growth of feathers, beak and feet development, strong egg shell protection, and enhanced bird health.
Soybeans provides the right nutrition for poultry, as providing the right nutrition is important for poultry growth, production and health. Different energy requirements are required, depending on factors including bird age and production status. Providing adequate nutrition is vital so that the birds are able to achieve its productive potentials and also for them to sustain their health.
The amount of feed consumed by poultry varies, depending on whether the bird is being raised for egg production. Majority of poultry birds (chickens, turkeys, ducks, guinea fowls, geese, quail, etc.) are bred for their meat and eggs, while few are bred to be kept in zoos.
Feed intake will also vary depending on environmental conditions such as temperature, physical activity and whether the birds have access to other sources of feed such as grass in free range systems.
Considering all these factors, several agro scientists, farmers and agricultural feed processors agree that soybean meal is the most important protein source used to feed farm livestock. Research by the agro scientists at the Ohio State University and Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, Columbus, Ohio have shown that soybean meal helps layer poultry birds to effectively lay strong, large eggs, through out their entire life cycles.
Poultry birds, take up to 24 to 26 hours to lay an egg, with most of the actual incubation happening overnight. Thus, poultry farmers have to adequately provide their livestock with the right amount of feed to improve the quality of the eggs laid.
The amino acids in soybeans also enhance the health of the birds fed with soybean feeds, thus encouraging the level of agro productivity of any poultry industry.
Soybean meal is the most abundantly produced of all oilseed crops, as the attractiveness of soybean meal as a feed ingredient is due to the high protein quality and nutritional value compared to alternatives.
Finally, soybean feed aids all poultry birds (broilers, layers, noilers, turkeys) in immune development. The protein, calcium and omega 6 nutrients present in soybean feeds, repair worn out cells and tissues in poultry, improve their resistance to avian diseases and bolster their immune system.
Reginald Onabu, Researcher and Public Relations Officer, Writes from Lagos
