PERFORMANCE OF BROILER CHICKENS IN RESPONSE TO DIETS CONTAINING GRADED LEVELS OF ENERGY-PROTEIN CONCENTRATE

Abstract

The 42-day study investigated the use of maize and local fish waste as components of an energy-protein concentrate (EPC) in broiler chicken diets, to address challenges in conventional feeding. Maize, used as the source of energy concentrate (ME), and local fish waste as the source of protein concentrate (CP) were mixed in the ratio 3:2 with maize containing 8.9% CP, and local fish waste containing 61.5% CP, while the energy content of maize and local fish waste were 3350kcal/kg and 2760kcal/kg, respectively. One hundred and fifty Arbor Acre broiler chickens of 5 replicates with 10 birds per replicate in a completely randomized design were fed diets with varying inclusion level of EPC at 0%, 50%, and 100% replacement of major energy and protein sources. Results revealed that for final weight (FWT), weight gain (WG) and feed intake (FI), birds fed diet with 0% and 50% EPC replacement performed similarly (710.76g, 668.46g, and 970.66g), (663.15g, 621.79g, and 944.57g) at 21 days. At 42 days, the FWT, WG and FI of those on 0% EPC were also similar to those on 50% EPC replacement (2.25kg, 2.21kg and 1.50kg), (2.21kg, 2.17kg and 3.60kg) respectively, but performed better than those fed 100% EPC replacement diet (356.08g, 314.66g, and 564.03g). However, the feed conversion ratio was not significantly affected. The study emphasized nutrient density of EPC and its efficient utilization for broiler performance. The findings support refining dietary formulations to optimize broiler performance and promote sustainable production practices.