Abstract
BackgroundThe cost involved in feeding poultry is very high especially in most developing countries. To this end, the effectiveness of the fruit pulp of Vitellaria paradoxa (shea), an agro-industrial by-product that is discarded in the processing of the nut for shea butter extraction was investigated on twelve poultry birds assigned to three groups A, B and C (control). Dried samples of the fruit pulp were analysed for their nutrients.ResultsProximate analysis of the shea fruit pulp revealed a carbohydrate content of 41.14%, crude fibre 26.62%, crude protein 10.34%, ash 9.23%, crude fat 3.55% and 9.13% for moisture. It also contained essential minerals such as Ca (587 mg /100 g dw), Na (138.30 mg /100 g dw), Mg (1358 mg /100 g dw), K (771.5 mg /100 g dw), Fe (29.88 mg/100 g dw), Zn (40.31 mg/100 g dw) and Cu (8.11 mg/100 g dw). Heavy metals such as Cd, Mn, Pb and Cr were below detectable limits. Measured parameters were live body weights and some selected blood chemistry tests. Broilers in groups A and B fed on shea fruit pulp formulated with maize meal showed a significant growth performance in weight (p < 0.05) as compared to group C fed on maize meal only. Selected blood chemistry tests carried out included Ca, Na, K, Albumin, Triglyceride and Chloride. Statistical analysis showed that formulated feed had a significant effect (p < 0.05) on blood chemistry values of broilers, however, there was an insignificant effect (p > 0.05) in the control group, fed on maize meal only.ConclusionThe fruit pulp of Vitellaria paradoxa could be considered a good source of macro and micronutrients and could be used as a supplement in poultry feed.
Highlights
The cost involved in feeding poultry is very high especially in most developing countries
Broilers in Group A were fed with shea fruit pulp-maize meal (SFPMM) for the first 21 days, after which the feed was swapped with maize meal (MM) only for the 21 days
The steady increase in body weight up to the 24th day, when SFPMM was swapped with MM, could be attributed to the nutritional minerals which persisted in the body
Summary
The cost involved in feeding poultry is very high especially in most developing countries. In a study by Abu et al [4], poultry meat and eggs account for about 10% of the total amount of meat and eggs produced in the world annually In developing countries such as Ghana, poultry rearing has been a practice for both rural and urban dwellers as a result of population growth, increased urbanization and rising income demands [5]. The sector is faced with many challenges ranging from increasing cost of feed to occasional feed shortages, threatening the broiler industry [6] These challenges have been identified to be a key barrier to meeting the demand for animal protein in developing countries [7]
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