The impact of raw and cooked wild cocoyam (Caladium bicolor) on the performance of broiler chicks

P.N Onu,F.N Madubuike

doi:10.2298/bah1201119o

Abstract

This study was carried out to evaluate the impact of raw and cooked wild cocoyam (Caladium bicolor) on the performance of broiler chicks. Wild cocoyam corms were divided into two batches. One batch was ground raw and the other batch was cooked before grinding. Wild cocoyam meals so prepared were used to formulate 5 broiler starter diets at dietary inclusion levels of 0, 10 and 20% raw and cooked wild cocoyam respectively. 180 7-day-old Anak broiler chicks were randomly allotted to the five treatment diets in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) and each group was further subdivided into three replicates of 12 birds. Measurements recorded included weight gain, feed intake, feed conversion and protein efficiency ratios and economics of production. Results shows significant (p<0.05) improvement in feed intake, weight gain, feed conversion ratio and PER of birds fed cooked wild cocoyam meals. Marked (p<0.05) reduction was however, obtained in feed intake and feed conversion ratio of birds fed raw wild cocoyam diets. There was no significant (p>0.05) difference between birds fed maize-based (control) and cooked wild cocoyam diets. Results of this experiment indicated that cooking improved the nutritive value of wild cocoyam since birds fed cooked wild cocoyam diets produced best results than those fed raw wild cocoyam meal and that starter broilers could tolerate up to 20% dietary inclusion level of cooked wild cocoyam without any deleterious effect. Economics of production showed that cooked wild cocoyam diets were more profitable as regards the cost of feed per kg weight gain (N) and thus cost savings (%).

Highlights

Poultry production is an increasingly important agricultural industry in the world
The proximate composition of raw wild cocoyam meal shows that raw wild cocoyam meal contained 7.21% crude protein, 1.48% crude fibre, 4.60% ether extract, 5.13% ash and 81.58% nitrogen free extract
The decrease in crude protein and ether extract values observed in cooked wild cocoyam could be attributed to the solubilization and leaching of nutrients into the processing water (Mbajunwa, 1995; Adeyemi et al, 2000)

Summary

Introduction

Poultry production is an increasingly important agricultural industry in the world. As beneficial and interesting poultry seems, this sub-sector is bedevilled by high off-farm input prices feed prices. This has made a greater number of poultry farmers to produce below capacity. Feed accounts for about 80% of the total cost of intensive broiler production (Daghir, 1995; Oruseibio and Smile, 2001). This invariably has escalated the cost of poultry production prices of poultry products which is getting out of reach of the common man in most developing countries, including Nigeria

Methods

Results

Conclusion