Abstract
BackgroundThe objective of this study was to produce a least-cost ration from the use of fluted pumpkin leaf meal and bread waste in broiler chickens’ diets. Fluted pumpkin leaves (FPL) were sourced in Akure and its environs. The leaves were air-dried and milled to produce fluted pumpkin leaf meal (FPLM), while bread wastes were collected from different bakeries in Ilara-mokin and Akure towns, Ondo State, Nigeria. The bread wastes were sun-dried and milled and tagged BWM. The fluted pumpkin meal and bread waste meal were mixed in ratio 1:9 (1 kg FPLM + 9 kg BWM) to produce the fortified bread waste meal (FBWM) and used as one of the feed ingredients in broiler chickens’ diets. The FBWM were included in the diets at 0, 5, 10 and 15% to serve as diets I, II, III and IV, respectively. Two hundred day-old Abor-acre broiler chicks were randomly allotted to the four (4) dietary treatments at fifty (50) chicks per treatment at five (5) replicates per treatment in a completely randomized design. The experimental diets (starter and finisher) and freshwater were offered to the chicks ad libitum for fifty-six (56) days.ResultsThe results showed that the final weights and total weight gain were significantly (P < 0.05) influenced by dietary treatments. The highest final weight (2.12 ± 13.16 kg/bird) and the highest total weight gain (2.08 ± 13.14 kg/bird) were recorded in birds fed diet I, while the lowest final weight (1.73 ± 11.67 kg/bird) and the lowest total weight gain (1.69 ± 11.15 kg/bird) were recorded in birds fed diet IV. There was no significant (P > 0.05) difference in the feed conversion ratio for all birds fed diets I–IV. The highest dressed weight (92.64 ± 8.30%) and the highest eviscerated weight (79.52 ± 6.50%) were recorded in birds fed diet I. The lowest cholesterol (21.23 ± 3.15 mg/dl) was recorded in bird fed diet IV and the highest (32.78 ± 3.78 mg/dl) in birds fed diet I. Highest net profit (N 683.27) was recorded in bird fed diet IV.ConclusionConceivably, within the limit of this study, the inclusion of FBWM in the diet of broiler chickens at 0% had better results than other test diets, but looking at the level of significant, up to 5% is practicable considering the final weight and weight gain. Bird fed 15% yielded the highest profit/bird produced.
Highlights
A major challenge in the livestock industry is increasing price of a conventional feedstuff with the resultant effect of shortage in animal protein and high cost of poultry production and poor animal protein intake amongNigerians (Olabode, 2008)
The obtained results from this study showed that the growth in terms of body weight of the birds fed at varying level of bread waste fortified with fluted pumpkin leaf meals was significantly different (P < 0.05) for final weight and total weight gain of the birds
The obtained results of biochemical indices from this present study show that the total protein, albumin, globulin, creatinine, aspartate transamine and alanine aminotransferase were not influenced at varying inclusion levels of the fortified bread wastes in the diets
Summary
To match this demand as well as producing broiler chickens at a reduced cost, use of cheaper, locally available and unconventional feed resources will be the answer. There is a need to explore the Adegbenro et al Bulletin of the National Research Centre (2020) 44:97 use of agro-industrial by-products as feed sources that can yield the same output as conventional feedstuff and perhaps at a cheaper cost This will help to reduce the cost of feeds and minimize the direct competition between human and animal for the availability of conventional feeds. The objective of this study was to produce a least-cost ration from the use of fluted pumpkin leaf meal and bread waste in broiler chickens’ diets. The experimental diets (starter and finisher) and freshwater were offered to the chicks ad libitum for fifty-six (56) days
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