Biogas sludge can be used as hog feed – research
INDANG, Cavite: Research findings by a unit of the Cavite State University (CvSU) show that biogas sludge produced from a biogas digester can substitute for commercial hog feeds without significant differences in the growth and development of hogs and on its carcass yield.
The research breakthrough was revealed by Ruperto Sangalang, Camilo Polinga, Elizabeth Polinga, Jaime Dilidili, Rosalie Pelle and Rene Marasigan, and officials and staff of the CvSUAffiliated Renewable Energy Center in this town.
They reported the results based on the parameters of the study, namely: gain in weight, feed conversion efficiency and carcass quality of hogs.
Results indicated that the growth response of hogs fed with sludge as feed substitute is as normal as the hogs fed with basic ration of 100-percent commercial feeds.
The feed conversion efficiency (FCE) was observed in hogs fed with 100-percent commercial feeds with 26.22 percent but shows insignificant difference from the other treatments. Fifteen percent and 30 percent sludge substitutes gave 24.53-percent and 24.16-percent FCE, respectively.
For carcass quality, the hogs given diets substituted with sludge gave comparable carcass quality to hogs fed with 100-percent commercial feeds.
The researchers concluded that substituting biogas sludge to the feed ration of hogs has no adverse effect on their growth and development.
Likewise, the substitution of 30-percent sludge to the feed ration of hogs gives desirable result since the amount
of commercial feeds would be reduced by as much as one-third of the total
feeds given to hogs.