The effects of replacing maize with sorghum or millet on the performance and economics of production of broiler chickens were investigated in a 42 -day feeding trial. One hundred and eighty (180) (Anak-2000) broiler chicks weighing averagely 351.7±5.7g were randomly allotted to four experimental diets in which maize (T 1 ) control, pearl millet (T 2 ), low tannin sorghum (T 3 ) and high tannin sorghum (T 4 ) served as the energy sources in a randomized block design (RBD). Each treatment consisted of 45 birds and three replicates of fifteen chickens each. There were no significant (P>0.05) differences in productive performance among all the treatment groups. The overall weight gains were 1,788.7, 1,862.0, 1,768.7 and 1,578.3g and feed conversion ratio was 2.45, 2.24, 2.88 and 2.94 respectively for T 1 , T 2 , T 3 and T 4 . The results, however, indicate that the cost per kg feed and cost of feed per unit weight gain were lowest in millet followed by high-tannin sorghum, low-tannin sorghum and maize-based diets respectively. This suggests that the replacement of maize by these materials would be economical and also cost effective.
The effects of feeding broiler chickens with millet, low tannin and high tannin sorghum baseddiets compared to maize-based diet on the carcass measurements and blood constituents was investigated in the semi-arid zone of Nigeria. Two-week (14 days) old broiler chicks (Anak 2000) weighing averagely 351.7±5.67 were randomly allotted to four experimental diets in which maize (T 1 ) control, millet (T 2 ), low-tannin sorghum (T 3 ) and high tannin sorghum (T 4 ) served as the energy sources in a randomized complete block design (RCBD). Each treatment contained 45 birds with three replicates of 15 birds each. Except for breast, full crop and abdominal fats, there were no significant (P> 0.05) differences among all the treatment groups for carcass and organ measurements. Packed cell volume (PCV), red blood cells (PBC) count and lymphocyte values were significantly (P< 0.05) higher in the maize (T 1 ), millet (T 2 ) and low tannin sorghum-based (T 3 ) diets than the high-tannin sorghum based diet (T 4 ). Mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC), basophils and neutrophils values were however, inferior (p<0.05) in the maize (T 1 ), millet (T 2 ) and low-tannin sorghum based (T 3 ) diets compared to the high-tannin sorghum based (T 4 ) diets. Blood protein and blood sodium were better (P< 0.05) in the sorghumbased diets (T 3 and T 4 ) than those of maize and millet-based diets. This study therefore revealed that replacing maize with sorghum or millet has no adverse effects on carcass and blood constituents of broiler chickens.
A study was conducted to evaluate the performance of caged laying hens fed raw, soaked, boiled, sprouted and fermented sorrel seed meal in a semi-arid environment. Six isonitrogenous diets (17% crude protein) were formulated. Diet 1 was based on soyabean meal which was replaced at 50% by processed sorrel seed meal in the other diets. A total of one hundred and eighty (180) Black Harco pullets aged 22 weeks were randomly assigned to the diets with 30 birds per diet each containing 3 replicates of 10 birds. Data were collected on feed consumption, egg production and shell quality. Results showed no dietary effects on feed utilization, egg production, egg weight and shell quality. The cost of feed was reduced with the inclusion of sorrel seed meal in the diet resulting to a lower cost of egg production on these diets compared to the control. No mortality was recorded during the period of the experiment. It was concluded that up to 50% of dietary soyabean meal can be replaced with sorrel seed meal raw or processed without adverse effects on the performance of laying hens. The replacement will reduce the cost of the feed and thus the cost of egg production.
The study was conducted to determine the chemical composition of Prosopis africana pulp (PAP) and the effects of PAP on the performance of growing rabbits. The study also highlighted the economic benefits arising from the substitution of maize with PAP in rabbit diets. Thirty (30) rabbits (Dutch X New Zealand white), 5-6 weeks of age and of mixed sexes were used for the study. The rabbits were randomly allotted to five dietary treatments in groups of six, but caged individually. The PAP replaced maize weight for weight at levels of 0, 10, 20, 30 and 40% in diets 1 (control), 2, 3, 4 and 5 respectively. The formulated diets contained similar crude protein content of 18%. The parameters considered were feed intake, growth rate, feed conversion ratio, protein efficiency ratio and the economic performance. The chemical analysis revealed that PAP and maize were similar in nutrient composition and amino acid profile. Highest feed intake (47.36 g/rabbit/day) and total weight gain (1211.67 g/rabbit) were recorded in treatment 3 (20% PAP) which were significantly different (P< 0.05) from treatments 4 (30% PAP) and 5 (40% PAP), but similar (P> 0.05) to treatments I (control) and 2 (10% PAP). The slightly higher daily weight gain (10.3 6 g/rabbit/day), feed conversion ratio (6.83) and protein efficiency ratio (1.14) recorded in treatment 3 (20% PAP) were not significantly different (P>0.05) from those of the other treatments. Although feed cost per kg and feed cost per kg gain were better in treatments 4 and 5, better feed intake and daily gain were obtained in the other treatments. Therefore, diets containing 20% PAP (i.e. 50% maize replacement) could be fed to growing rabbits without compromising the growth performance of the rabbits.
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