Considerations when including spray dried animal plasma in broiler feed programs: A review

Spray dried animal plasma (SDAP) is a high protein ingredient with unique nutritional and functional properties. Compared to other commonly used feed ingredients SDAP is low in Met and high in Cys, Lys and Thr. The low Met and high Cys levels create the potential for a Met deficiency while meeting the broilers TSAA requirement. The most common commercially available sources of SDAP include porcine, bovine and avian plasma. There are specie differences in AA levels including Met, Lys and Thr. Avian plasma is higher in Met compared to bovine or porcine (1.51%, 0.92%, and 0.70%, respectively). Bovine plasma is higher in Lys and Thr compared to porcine or avian (7.81%, 6.22%, and 5.26% Lys, and 5.86%, 4.20% and, 4.31% Thr, respectively). The anticoagulant added to blood during collection contributes to the relatively high P, Na, and Cl levels in SDAP. The P is highly available and can reduce the need for supplemental P while the Na and Cl may not be as available as other sources. The digestibility of SDAP is high and has also been shown to improve digestibility of other diet ingredients. The addition of 1% to 2% SDAP to broiler starter diets can improve BW at market. The improved growth performance associated with SDAP is greater when the broiler is exposed to environmental stresses such as high environmental temperatures, used litter, mycotoxin contamination of the diet, exposure to pathogenic bacteria, or the stress associated with low hatch weight. It is hypothesized that SDAP contains bioactive compounds such as proteins, peptides, cytokines, and hormones which contribute to SDAP ability to mitigate the effects of environmental stresses and in this review reference to the functional properties of SDAP includes these effects. Used strategically, SDAP is a valuable ingredient in broiler feed.