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Twenty four crossbred (Landrace x Large White) barrows and gilts of average initial weight of 52.0 kg liveweight were used to evaluate the replacement value of brewers' dried grain (BDG) for maize in diets of pigs. Animals were randomly allotted to pens and treatments in a randomised block design trail. The treatments were (a) 15% crude protein finisher diet and diets in which BDG replaced (b) 15%, (c) 30%, and (d) 45% of the maize. Pigs were slaughtered on attaining 90 2.5 kg liveweight and carcass data collected. Pigs fed the control diet took shorter time to attain final slaughter weight (P < 0.01) and time taken to attain slaughter weight increased linearly as the level of BDG increased in the diet. The feed intake of pigs decreased linearly (P < 0.01) as the level of maize replaced by BDG increased. However, feed : gain ratio was not significantly different between treatments. The carcass yield (chilled and warm) and body measurements (body length, chest girth and loin girth) were not significantly affected by the dietary treatments. The percentages of shoulder, loin and belly were not significantly affected by the level of BDG feed. However, the percentage ham increased quadratically as the level of BDG replacing maize increased. The loineye area and the trimmed carcass yield were not significantly different between treatments. The backfat thickness of pigs decreased non-significantly as the level of BDG increased in the diet of pigs. The organ weights of finisher pigs did not present any clear-cut picture. However, the liver weights of pigs fed high levels of BDG were significantly less when compared to the control.

Present study was conducted to ascertain the effect of cooked African locust bean seed meal (CALBSM) diets on the growth response, organs weights and carcass characteristics of broiler chickens. Two hundred and twenty five day old broiler chickens (Marshall strain) were fed with diets containing CALBSM at dietary level 0, 7.5, 15, 22.5 and 30%, designated as Treatment 1, 2, 3 ,4 and 5.. Diets were allocated with three replicates (n = 45) to experimental animals in a completely randomized design (CRD). The experiment lasted 9 weeks (4 weeks for initial phase, 1 week adjustment period and 4 weeks final phase). The results of growth response at initial phase showed significant differences (P<0.05) in final body weight (977.00 to 1194.33 g), total feed intake (1853.51 to 1905.96 g) and feed conversion ratio (1.63 to 1.79). The highest weight gain and better performance were recorded in chicks fed with 15% CALBSM based diets compared to others. Similarly, the performance of broiler chicken at final phase showed the significant differences (P< 0.05) in the final body weight (2585.75 to 2976.69 g), total weight gain of chicks (957.70 to 1369.70 g) and feed cost per weight gain (181.32 to 239.27 N/kg gain). Higher weight gains in all phases were recorded for broiler chickens fed 15% CALBSM based diet compared to others. Carcass weight (1661.24 to 2020.51 g) and dressing percentages (69.88 to 73.20%) were significantly (P<0.05) higher in chicks fed 15% CALBSM diet over others. Breast muscle (17.79 to 22.27%), thigh and drumstick (16.78 to 19.84%) were significantly (P<0.05) affected by the dietary treatments. Results indicates that most of the organs (heart, lungs, pancreas and kidney) weight but liver did not show significant differences (P<0.05). However, there were significant differences (P<0.05) in the weight of gizzards and small intestines. Present findings lead authors to conclude that African locust bean seed meal cooked for 4 hours could be included in the diet of broiler chickens up 15% dietary level without any adverse effect on growth response, organs weights and carcass characteristics.

This study investigated the effects of varying the duration of cooking on the nutrient composition and levels of some antinutritional factors in lablab seeds. Raw lablab seeds were subjected to four durations of cooking, viz: 15, 30, 45 or 60 minutes respectively, in a drum of boiling water. The samples were dried and assayed for their proximate compositions, mineral contents, presence and levels of trypsin inhibitors (TIA), phytic acid, tannin and hydrocyanic acid (HCN). The raw lablab seeds contained 94.03% dry matter (DM), 26.12% crude protein (CP), 7.86% crude fibre (CF), 2.02% ether extract (EE), 4.43% ash and 59.57% nitrogen free extract (NFE). The proximate composition was not significantly (P>0.05) affected by duration of cooking. Potassium (15.66g/Kg DM) and iron (245.17g/Kg DM) were the most abundant macro and micro mineral elements, respectively in the raw lablab seeds while sodium (0.06g/Kg DM) and copper (53.62 mg/kg DM) were the least for macro and micro minerals, respectively. Except for calcium and sodium, all the minerals assayed were leached significantly (P<0.05) during cooking, Cooking lablab seeds at 100°C for forty-five minutes decreased trypsin inhibitor activity (TIA) from 593.87 mg/100g to 132.00 mg/100g; phytic acid from 5.65 mg/100g to 0.10 mg/100g; tannin from 0.22 mg/100g to 0.10 mg/100g and hydrocyanic acid (HCN) from 1.58 mg/100g to 0.45 mg/100g, respectively. These values correspond to 77.77, 78.93, 54.55 and 71.52 percent reductions in TIA, phytic acid, tannin and hydrocyanic acid, respectively. Cooking lablab seeds for 45 minutes appear to be the optimum for elimination of these antinutrients from lablab seeds.