This study was conducted to investigate the performance and nutrient digestibility in broiler chicks as influenced by multi-enzyme (Hemicell +Roxazyme G) addition to starter diets containing palm kernel meal. Nine experimental diets were formulated such that diet 1 which served as control contained 0 % PKM without enzyme supplementation. Diet 2, 3, 4 and 5 contained 10, 20, 30 and 40 % PKM levels respectively with multi-enzyme supplementation while diets 6, 7, 8 and 9 contained 10, 20, 30 and 40 % PKM inclusion levels respectively without multi-enzyme supplementation. Five hundred and forty (540) day old hybro broilers of mixed sex in ratio (1: 1) were randomly assigned to nine diets in a completely randomized design. Each treatment was replicated thrice with 20 birds per replicate. The experiment lasted 35 days. The results showed that nutrient digestibility in the control and 10 % PKM with enzyme supplementation were similar but were significantly (P<0.05) higher than other PKM diets with or without supplementation. There was significant (P<0.05) improvement in body weight and body weight gain and reduce feed intake with supplementation. Birds fed with 20 % PKM with enzyme showed similarity with control birds in all the performance parameters measured. Enzyme addition significantly (P<0.05) reduced cost of feed consumed at 30 % level of inclusion with PKM while cost per kilogram weight gain and cost of production were lower at 20 % PKM level.
Haemoglobin polymorphism was investigated in 50 normal feathered, 33 naked neck and 42 Fulani-ecotype Nigerian indigenous chickens. Haemoglobin typing was carried out using cellulose acetate electrophoresis. Two co-dominant haemoglobin alleles (HbA and HbB) were found in the chickens. From the electrophoretic band patterns, three genotypes (HbAA, HbAB and HbBB) were observed. The frequencies of the A and B genes were 0.68 and 0.32; 0.71 and 0.29; 0.75 and 0.25 for normal feathered, naked neck and Fulani-ecotype chickens respectively. The corresponding genotype frequencies for AA, AB, and BB in the three chicken populations were 0.54, 0.28 and 0.18; 0.58, 0.27and 0.15; 0.62, 0.26 and 0.12 respectively. The gene and genotype frequencies of naked neck and Fulani-ecotype birds were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium while those of normal feathered birds deviated significantly from the theoretical proportions. The average amount of heterozygosity at haemoglobin locus was 0.41. The results obtained could serve as a reference point in the genetic improvement of indigenous chickens using biochemical markers.
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