The Effect of Feeding Different Levels of Sardine Fish Silage on Broiler Performance, Meat Quality and Sensory Characteristics Under Closed and Open-Sided Housing Systems (Report‪)‬

INTRODUCTION Oman is a sub-arid country with hot climate and negligible rainfall. This reduces its capacity to produce animal feed ingredients. Therefore, the poultry industry in Oman totally depends on imported feeds. Soybean meal is the main international source of protein in poultry feeds and Oman is no exception. However, the protein level in soybean meal can be variable, which may be an indication of seed variety and/or processing conditions involving fat extraction (Veltman et al., 1986). Soybean contains a number of natural toxins and antinutritional factors, the most challenging being the trypsin inhibitor. As with most types of beans, trypsin inhibitors will disrupt protein digestion, and its presence is characterized by compensatory hypertrophy of the pancreas (McNaughton, 1981).