Abstract
The increase in human population, particularly in the developing countries like Nigeria and the demand for animal protein intake has necessitated different approaches of solving protein shortage. A 28-day study was carried out to determine the performance of finishers fed on different hourly soaked doum palm (Hyphaene thebaica) pulp meal (DPPM) diets. Two hundred and sixteen (216) finishers (4 week-old) were randomly allotted to six dietary treatments. Each treatment consisted of 36 birds with three replicates (12 birds per replicate) in a completely randomized design (CRD). Six experimental diets were formulated and designed as follows: T1 (Control) contained 0% DPPM while T2, T3, T4, T5 and T6 contained 12.5% each of 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 hours soaked DPPM as substitute for maize, respectively. Feeds and water were provided ad libitum for all treatment groups. The average body weight gain (40.44- 42.71 g/b/d), average feed intake (87.52-96.73 g/b/d) and feed conversion ratio (2.14-2.34) were non-significant (p>0.05) regardless of the dietary treatments. Statistical differences (p<0.05) were observed in some carcass parameters such as thigh (13.40-14.98%), neck (5.32-6.55%), shank (3.81-5.2 %), wing (9.80-11.41%), head (2.43-3.74%) and two haematological indices; white blood cell (160.67-189.53 X 103/mm3) and eosinophils (0.33-2.00%) across the treatment groups. The processed DPPM could serve as a rich energy source in broiler feeds with the raw doum palm pulp containing 2987.45 kcal/kg. Also, soaking the pulp for 2 to 10 hours before been included in broiler diet improved the nutritional content, acceptability, palatability and utilization of the feed by the broilers. Thus, up to 12.5% processed DPPM can be included in the diets of broiler chickens without adverse effect on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, carcass characteristics and haematological indices of chickens.
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