Performance and economics of production of broiler chickens fed sorghum or millet as replacement for maize in the semi-arid zone of Nigeria

Abstract

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.

Effects of Replacing Maize with Sorghum on Growth and Feed Efficiency of Commercial Broiler Chicken

“…The energy and protein content of sorghum used in the present study is 3986.4 Kcal/kg DM and 11.4%, respectively which is comparable with that reported by [7] 11.6% CP and 3800.1 Kcal/kg DM ME. Douglas et al [14] reported ME of 3838 and 3200 kcal/kg for low and high-tannin sorghum, respectively.…”

“…Similar to the starter phase the total and daily DMI during finisher were not significantly (P>0.05). The present results agrees with results of Medegu et al [7] who reported no significant difference in DMI intake in chick fed sorghum or millet as replacement for maize in semi-arid zone of Nigeria. Cramer et al [20] also reported similar DMI were recorded in chicks fed Sorghum-based diets subjected to various manufacturing procedures from 3-6 weeks.…”

“…This might be due to similar nutrient composition of ingredient diet and decreasing trend of crude fiber content of treatment diet as the level of sorghum in the diet increases. The current finding is comparable with the result of Medegu et al [7] who stated that final body weight, overall weight gain, daily feed intake, daily weight gain and feed conversion ratio showed no significant differences among all the treatment groups (Table 6 and Figure 1). …”

“…Dry matter conversion ratio during finishing phase of experimental period was not also significantly different (P>0.05) among the treatments. This result is in conformity with Medegu et al [7] who found as no significance difference in dry matter conversion ratio in broiler consumed Sorghum or millet as replacement for maize.…”

“…According to Olomu [6] the ME and percent crude protein content of sorghum are 3270 kcal kg -1 and 9.5%, respectively, which is comparable with 3319 kcal kg -1 ME and 10.1% CP, respectively of maize. The percent ash (1.2) and fiber (7.8) are higher than that of maize (1% ash and 5.5% CF) and sorghum is relatively similar in cost with maize compared to other cereal such as wheat [7]. A common complaint about sorghum is that it has high tannin levels [8].…”