Effects of Poultry Farm Waste on the Survival and Growth of Rohu (Labeo rohita)

Background and Objective: The poultry farm waste is considered to be a protein and energy source and thus can be used to establish the polyculture of poultry and fish. So, the study aimed to evaluate the potential of poultry farm waste (PW) as a dietary component for rohu (Labeo rohita) by assessing growth performance, Weight Conversion Coefficient (WCC), and Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) over a two-month feeding trial. Materials and Methods: The PW was collected from the Government Poultry Farm, Peshawar. Dried and analyzed for its nutritional composition at the Poultry Section of the Veterinary Research Institute (VRI), Peshawar. Then used this as the sole feed twice a day for months and observed the growth performance of fish by WCC. All data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA (p<0.05) in SPSS to evaluate the impact of poultry farm waste on the growth performance of rohu (Labeo rohita). Results: The proximate analysis of PW revealed it contained 95.08% dry matter, 46.06% ash, 25.5% fiber, 14.06% crude protein, 1.92% fat, and 48.36% carbohydrates. During the feeding trials, WCC initially exhibited lower values but improved significantly by the conclusion of the experiment. Conclusion: The findings indicate that PW, when utilized as a sole feed, is a viable and cost-effective option for enhancing fish production. The study provides a foundation for further exploration of PW as an alternative feed source in aquaculture.