YOGYAKARTA-Up to now, the egg shell waste in Indonesia is quite potential. But unfortunately, this potential has so far not been used optimally, especially as poultry feed, and only used for decoration or crafts. This is because so far the egg shell waste is easily contaminated by microbes and digestibility of minerals calcium is still low. In addition, its presence can also cause environmental pollution because it is difficult to degrade by soil microbes.
Related to this egg shell waste, Prof. Dr. Ir. Tri Yuwanta, S.U., D.E.A. (Dean of Faculty of Animal Sciences UGM) has successfully developed a method of eggshell waste processing into feed of mineral source for laying hens.
The method used in waste processing begins with immersion of shells in hot water 80 º C for 15-30 minutes; it is then cleaned and dried. Furthermore, the waste is soaked again using phosphate acid with some concentrations. Afterwards it is made into flour. The flour is mixed with other feed raw materials, such as milled corn, bran, and soybean meal. "Method of eggshell waste processing into feed for laying hens has been developed," said Ahmad Rois Mansur, student of Faculty of Animal Sciences, Husbandry Sciences and Industry Program class 2007 who is also involved in this research.
Utilizing egg shell waste is one attempt to enrich the mineral nutrient feed for laying hens. Shells form about 10% of total egg weight. Egg shell mostly (98.4%) consists of dry matter and only 1.6% of water. It also contains minerals (95.1%) and protein (3.3%). "Of the minerals, the most is calcium carbonate (98.43%), magnesium carbonate (0.84%), and calcium phosphate (0.75%)," he detailed.
Meanwhile, as an illustration, the national egg production in 2009 amounted to 1,071,398 tons. If the average weight of eggs is 60g, egg shells produced in a year are 178,566.33 tons. The amount is equivalent to 175,762.84 tons of calcium carbonate, 1499.96 tons of magnesium carbonate, and 1339.25 tons of calcium phosphate.
Mansur said the production cost of flour egg shell (for 100 kg) is estimated at 89,000 rupiah. Therefore, the price of egg shell flour per kilogram is 890 rupiah, while the price of mineral sources which are often used, namely shellfish flour, is 2,500 rupiah/kg (1,610 rupiah cheaper). "The average feed consumption of laying hens per day is 100g/ day with 3 grams of egg shell powder per day (3% of the total feed), then the cost of production per day that can be saved is 48,300 rupiah each day on population of 10,000 chickens or 1,449,000 rupiah each month," said Mansur who with his team won second place in the 2nd SATU Student Business Plan Competition at the National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan recently.
Furthemore, Mansur explained that chicken consuming egg shell as source of mineral production could reach 76.2%, whereas with other mineral supplements it is 71.1% (5.1% difference). Therefore, in laying chicken farm which has a population of 10,000 chickens, more 510 eggs will be produced (equal to 30.6 kg).
If the price of 1 kg of egg is 12,000 rupiah, the profit that can be obtained is 367,200 rupiah each day or 11,016,000 rupiah each month, with assumption an average egg weight is 60 grams. The total profit per month which can be obtained, either from the efficiency of feed manufacture and sale of eggs is 12,465,000 rupiah. "The bigger the scale of business (more and more chicken population), the more profit. In addition, mineral supplementation using egg shell powder can also support eco friendly program," he concluded.