Internal Organ Characteristics Research Articles

Growth performance and carcass characteristics of rabbits fed concentrate diets containing graded levels of Brassica oleracea outer leaves and Musa paradisiaca leaves

Ninety-six (96) 8-wk-old “mixed breed” of New Zealand white, California white and chinchilla rabbits were used to determine the growth performance, carcass and organ percentages of rabbits fed concentrate diets containing graded levels of Brassica oleracea outer leaves and Musa paradisiaca leaves. The rabbits were assigned to two groups of 48. Those in group 1 were allotted to four dietary treatments with concentrate diets containing 0, 10, 20 and 30% inclusion levels of B. oleracea outer leaves for one week and 12-wk adaptation and testing periods, respectively, for growth performance evaluation. Similar treatment and design were adopted for group 2 rabbits using graded levels of M. paradisiaca leaves. Six rabbits were randomly selected from each treatment group for slaughter at the end of the testing period for carcass and internal organ characteristics evaluation. There were no dietary effects on the parameters of rabbits fed graded levels of B. oleracea outer leaves except for M. paradisiaca, where the control diet had the lowest feed intake and the least (P<0.05) feed conversion ratio comparable to 30% inclusion level and final body weight, which was the highest (P<0.05) for rabbits fed diets containing 10 and 20% inclusion levels of M. paradisiaca leaves. The cost of feed was highest for the control diets, and reduced with increasing inclusion levels of the leaves in the diets. None of the rabbits died during the experimental period. The findings suggest that rabbits can be fed concentrate diets containing B. oleracea outer leaves and M. paradisiaca leaves up to 30% inclusion level for good growth performance and high carcass characteristics at a lower production cost than concentrate diets, while maintaining good health.

Effect of Maggot Meal-Based Multi-Nutrient Blocks on Slaughter Weight and Internal Organ Characteristics of Rabbit Weaners

House fly maggot is a potential insect that has a relatively high crude protein and mostly used in feeding monogastric animals. Twenty-four Chinchilla giganta rabbit weaners (12 males and 12 females) were used in this experiment in a randomised complete block design. Each rabbit weaner was randomly allotted to four different treatments. Each treatment was replicated three times with two rabbits per replicate. Sex was used as a blocking effect. This was done to evaluate the effects of graded levels of maggot meal-based multi-nutrient block on feed intake, daily weight gain, feed conversion ratio and internal organs weight during feeding for 56 days at Chinhoyi University of Technology farm. Feed formulation was done using I.D.T Try and Error Iteration software. Sun-dried maggot meal was used to produce four iso-nitrogenous and iso-energetic treatment multi-nutrient block diets with 0%, 5%, 10% and 15% maggot meal. An increase in the inclusion level of maggot meal had a positive effect on feed intake (P<0.05 Results from this study in rabbits revealed that although maggot meal-based diets were iso-nitrogenous (18% CP level), they differed in mean live weight gain (LWG). The study found that diets where 10-15% of housefly maggot meal was included achieved better growth rates and internal organ weights relative to soya bean meal-based diets. These maggot meal levels represent 50-80% partial replacement of soya bean meal in the diet. However, diets did not differ in heart weight. These results suggest that housefly maggot meal is a good source of protein and a suitable replacement for soya bean meal in the diets of growing rabbits post-weaning. Dietary inclusions of up to 150 g/kg (50-80% dietary replacement of soya bean meal) were recommended to ensure optimum growth performance and body composition of growing rabbits. Commercial use of this insect meal as a feed ingredient in rabbit diets would depend on industrial-scale production of the larvae and reduced costs of maggot meal

Performance and Internal Organ Characteristics of Broiler Chickens Fed Red Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. (Moench)) Based Diets Supplemented with Complex Enzyme (Kingzyme®)

The study was designed to study the effect of complex enzyme (Kingzyme®) on performance and carcass yield of broiler chickens fed red sorghum-based diets. Two hundred (200) chicks (day-old) of mixed sex was randomly allotted to five dietary treatments (T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5) supplemented with enzyme complex (Kingzyme®) at the levels of 0.0g, 0.2g, 0.5g, 0.8g and 1.1g kg per Kg of feed respectively in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD). Each treatment was replicated four (4) times to contain ten (10) birds each. Feed and water were provided ad libitum accompanied with standard management procedures for eight weeks. At end of the experiments, eight (8) birds whose body weights are closest to the mean of the group was randomly selected from each treatment (two (2) per replicate) and was fasted overnight to reduce the gut contents and carcass contamination. The birds for each replicate was weighed to determine the live body weight, followed by slaughtering, bleeding, bled weight determination, scalding and wet plucking. The plucked weight was determined followed by evisceration, dressed weight and weighing of internal organs. The weight of the internal organs and length of small, large intestines and caecum was determined. The weights of the internal organ were expressed as the percentage of the dressed weight. Data were analyzed using Statitix Analytical Software, Version 10; and the treatment means were compared using Turkey HSD. There was no significant (P < 0.05) difference across the treatment groups for feed intake and growth performance at both starter and finisher phases respectively. Similarly, carcass characteristics showed no significant (P < 0.05) difference across the dietary treatments. Lungs, gizzard and proventriculus was significantly (P < 0.05) affected across the dietary treatments. Based on the result of the study, it was concluded that Red Sorghum-based diet supplemented with enzyme complex (Kingzyme®) do not have any significant effect on feed intake and growth performance of broiler chickens but can change some internal organs weights especially the lungs, gizzards and proventriculus.

Peformance of Broiler Chickens Fed Differntly Processed Red Kidney Beans Seed Meal (Phaseoulus Vulgaris) as Poultry Feed Resource

An 8 weeks feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the nutritive contribution of red kidney bean (phaseoulus vulgaris) seed meal on growth performance, carcass and internal organ characteristics and economics of production of broiler chickens. Two hundred (Anak-2000) white strain day old broiler chicks were weight and assigned to five groups of forty chicks each. Each group was further divided into four groups of ten birds per replicate in completely randomized design. Five diets were formulated using differently processed Red kidney bean seed meal (Phaseoulus vulgaris) at 0% in the control (T1) and 25% levels of inclusion for Raw (RRKBSM), Toasted (TRKBSM), boiled (BRKBSM) and Dehaulled (DRKBSM) respectively. Feed and water were given ad-libtum daily throughout the feeding trial. The growth performance showed significant (P<0.05) difference for all the parameters. However, there were significance (P<0.05) for live weight, dressed weight, plucked weight, breast weight, back, thigh, drumstick, shank, kidney and lungs. Similarly cost/kg feed was higher in T4 (N 449.91) and lowest in T2 (N 424.20). Feed cost/kg weight gain was higher in T5 (N 440.93/kg) gain and lowest feed cost/kg gain was on T4 (N 308.14/kg) gain. From the foregoing, it implies that RKBSM is a potential feed resource and could be included in diets of broiler chickens when differently processed up to 25% inclusion level as protein source in broiler chicken diet for growth and performance.

MSKD: Structured knowledge distillation for efficient medical image segmentation

In recent years, deep learning has revolutionized the field of medical image segmentation by enabling the development of powerful deep neural networks. However, these models tend to be complex and computationally demanding, posing challenges for practical implementation in clinical settings. To address this issue, we propose an efficient structured knowledge distillation framework that leverages a powerful teacher network to assist in training a lightweight student network. Specifically, we propose the Feature Filtering Distillation method, which focuses on transferring region-level semantic information while minimizing redundant information transmission from the teacher to the student network. This approach effectively mitigates the problem of inaccurate segmentation caused by similar internal organ characteristics. Additionally, we propose the Region Graph Distillation method, which exploits the higher-order representational capabilities of graphs to enable the student network to better imitate structured semantic information from the teacher. To validate the effectiveness of our proposed methods, we conducted experiments on the Synapse multi-organ segmentation and KiTS kidney tumor segmentation datasets using various network models. The results demonstrate that our method significantly improves the segmentation performance of lightweight neural networks, with improvements of up to 18.56% in Dice coefficient. Importantly, our approach achieves these improvements without introducing additional model parameters. Overall, our proposed knowledge distillation methods offer a promising solution for efficient medical image segmentation, empowering medical experts to make more accurate diagnoses and improve patient treatment.

VIRTOPSY AS A BREAKTHROUGH IN NON-INVASIVE AUTOPSY: ITS PRINCIPLES AND POTENTIAL OF APPLICATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Autopsy practice is often limited due to the risk of infection transmission and family objections. As an alternative, virtual autopsy (virtopsy) is proposed, which uses minimally invasive radiology techniques such as postmortem CT scan (PM-CT) and PM-MRI. However, there is a scarcity of literature comprehensively summarizing this topic. Therefore, this review article discusses the advantages and limitations of virtopsy in developing countries during the COVID-19 pandemic, along with ethical issues and a proposed algorithm for postmortem imaging. Virtopsy improves the sensitivity (93%) and specificity (83%) of diagnoses and offers several advantages, such as faster identification, good foreign body detection, three-dimensional reconstruction, and non-invasiveness. Limitations include difficulty in determining infection status and assessing internal organ characteristics, operator dependence, insufficient legal basis, and high costs. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this article compiles twenty-one studies from 2020 to 2022 that used virtopsy to investigate 191 cases of COVID-19 infection resulting in death. The studies were conducted in various countries, with only two developing countries [Brazil (n = 3) and India (n = 1)] reported to have used it. Most of the studies used PM-CT, while others used postmortem ultrasound, PM-MRI, and PM chest X-ray. Virtopsies were mostly performed within 24 hours. The age range of the deceased individuals investigated using virtopsy was between 11 and 99 years old, with males being predominant. Virtopsy was mostly used for triage or screening for conventional autopsy (CA) as well as adjuvant/complement to CA. In summary, virtopsy has potential benefits for developing countries during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, making it a valuable investment despite its limitations.

Carcass and Internal Organs Characteristics of Broiler Chickens Fed Soybean Diet

Soybean (Glycine max) is a principal vegetable protein source in the animal feed industry in Nigeria, including the poultry feed industry, but because of the fact that it contains various anti-nutritional factors, the raw full-fat cannot be used in poultry nutrition. The present study was carried out to examine the carcass, and internal organ characteristics of broiler chickens fed a soybean diet. A total of eight hundred and four unsexed one-day-old broiler chickens (Arbor Acre) with an average weight of 45 ± 1.1 g were used in 56 days feeding trial to observe the effect of different processing methods of soybean on broiler chicken carcass and organs characteristics including; liver, spleen, lungs, crop, bile, pancreas, heart, intestine and empty gizzard. There were four dietary treatments (T1-T4), each containing soybean meal as the control diet, dried-boiled soybean, roasted soybean and dried-fermented soybean. Each treatment was replicated three times with 67 broiler chickens per replicate, giving 201 broiler chickens per treatment. The experiment was arranged in a completely randomized design. The starter diet was fed for 4 weeks and the finisher diet for 4 weeks. At the end of the feeding trial, 15 broiler chickens were randomly selected for sampling and collecting the data. The weight of the internal organs and carcass characteristics showed no significant difference in the treatment groups, but the fermented method showed the highest value in the live weight (2075.00 g), eviscerated weight (1532.46 g), and breast weight (483.72 g) compared to other carcass parameters in other treatments including the control diet. It is, therefore, concluded that for optimal broiler growth, the fermented processing method of soybean is recommended. Keywords: Broilers chicken, Carcass characteristic, Diet, Internal organ, Processed soybean

ORGANOLEPTIC PROPERTIES, CARCASS CHARACTERISTICS AND INTERNAL ORGAN PROFILE OF FINISHER BROILERS FED SUNDRIED CASSAVA PEEL MEAL BLENDED WITH PALM OIL SLUDGE

The study was conducted to evaluate the effect of graded level of sundried cassava peel meal (CPM) blended with palm oil sludge (POS) on organoleptic qualities, carcass and internal organ characteristics of broiler chickens. A total of 150day old broiler chicks from Caskada Company were used for the study. The birds were fed graded levels of sundried cassava peel meal plus palm oil sludge (CPMPOS) (0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5,10.0 kg) in partial replacement of maize for treatment 1 2, 3, 4 and 5 respectively. On day 56 of the experiment, two birds from each replicate was selected and starved for at least 12 hours, six birds per treatment that were closest to the mean were selected from each of the treatment, tagged and slaughtered then scalded in hot water of 55oC for one minute and dressed to evaluate carcass characteristics, processed and boiled for organoleptic properties. Thirty panelists were chosen for the organoleptic test. Data were collected based on the information generated from the nine (9) point hedonic scale. The panelists evaluated the samples for colour, flavour, juciness, tenderness and general acceptability. The result showed that there is significant difference (P< 0.05) for tenderness and juiceness and no significant effect (P> 0.05) on the appearance, colour, overall acceptability and flavour. The results showed that there was significant difference (P < 0.05) in live weight, shank, wing, drumstick, head and abdominal fat. There were no significant effect (P > 0.05) in the values of the intestine, gall bladder and heart. Thus, CPMPOS can partially replace maize on

Carcass yield and internal organs of broiler chickens fed diets treated with organic acids

An experiment was conducted to determine the effect of different organic acids (OAs on carcass yield and internal organ characteristics of broiler chickens. The OAs were acetic acid (AA) butyric acid (BA), citric acid (CA) and formic acid (FA). One hundred and fifty (150) day old AborAcre - plus chicks were used. There were five dietary treatments. Diet 1 which served as control (CON) contained no OA, while diets 2, 3, 4 and 5 respectively contained 0.25% AA, BA, CA and FA which replaced palm kernel cake in which each treatment was replicated three times with 10 birds per replicate and arranged in completely randomized design (CRD). Diets were both isoenergetic and isonitrogenous. The experiment lasted for 8 weeks. Feed and water were given ad libitum. At the end of the 8 weeks of feeding, 3 birds from each replicate giving a total of 9 birds per treatment were slaughtered for carcass and internal organ evaluation. Result from the carcass evaluation showed that there were no significant differences (P>0.05) in dressed carcass weight, thigh, wing and drumstick. All the OAs except BA produced bigger breast meat compared to the birds fed control diet. The weight of the backcut was significantly (P<0.05) reduced by FA compared to the birds on control diet. Birds that consumed FA treated diet deposited more abdominal fat and AA produced the least (P<0.05). Internal organ result indicated that both the liver and the kidney were not negatively affected by OA treated diets. Caecum and the large intestine were significantly larger in than those obtained from birds fed the control diet. Therefore, addition of the OAs except BA to broiler diets could be a good practice considering their positive effect on the breast meat which is a premium cut part. 

Biometric measurements of body and internal organ traits of indigenous chickens on free range in South-Eastern Nigeria

A biometric study of the body conformation and internal organs of the indigenous chickens on free range in rural areas of Imo State in South-Eastern Nigeria was conducted using 5 Local Government Areas. It was observed that the predominant plumage colours were black (51.25%) and brown (36.25%) for the hens while the cocks were predominantly black (30.36%) and red (25.01%). The dressed colour of the birds was majorly yellow and white comprising of (70.68%) and (29.32%) for the hens and (77.75%) and (22.25%) for the cocks, respectively. Shank colour was black (95.4%) and white (4.65%) for the hens, while the cocks were (54.24%) black and (46.76%) white respectively. The mean shank length, neck length and back length of 6.725±0.09 cm, 11.11±0.20 cm and 17.77±0.29 cm were estimated for the hens, while the cocks had mean shank length, neck length and back length of 7.79±0.13 cm, 11.35±0.30 cm and 18.29±0.44 cm, respectively. The mean body weights of the hens and cocks were 868.48±21.18 g, and 1032±57.84 g, respectively with cocks being significantly (P<0.05) higher in body weight and back length than hens. The mean biometric and internal organ measures of chickens per Local Government Area (LGA) were also investigated with no significant (P>0.05) differences among chickens in the five LGAs except for weight of proventriculus and full intestine. Regression equations for the prediction of body weight using the biometric and internal organ measurements were obtained under two functional forms (linear and semi-log) which showed a weak coefficient of determination (R2) ranging between 7.5 to 24.3% for biometric measurements, and a strong coefficient of determination (R2) ranging between 21.4 to 98.89% for internal organs. There was no significant correlation coefficient (r) between the biometric measurements taken, but strong and significant correlation (r) was shown between internal organs and body weight. Therefore, indigenous chickens of South-Eastern Nigeria exhibit wide variability among phenotypes in terms of physical appearance, biometric measurement and internal organ characteristics. More so, the internal organs can be predicted more effectively than biometric measurements by the body weight, using regression models of the two functional forms; and significant indirect selection can be made to improve internal organs like gizzard weight using the bodyweight, due to significant correlation coefficient established.

Effect of finisher diets treated with organic acids on carcass and internal organs of broiler chickens

An experiment was carried out to determine the effect of different organic acids (OAs) on carcass yield and internal organ characteristics of broiler chickens. The OAs were ethanoic acid (acetic acid - AA), butanoic acid (butyric acid - BA), citric acid (CA) and methanoic acid (formic acid - FA). One hundred and fifty (150) day old AborAcre-plus chicks were used. There were five dietary treatments. Diet 1 which served as control (CON) contained no OAs, while 0.25% of AA, BA, CA and FA replaced palm kernel cake in diets 2 – 5. Each treatment was replicated three times with 10 birds per replicate, arranged in completely randomized design (CRD). Diets were both isoenergetic and isonitrogenous. The experiment lasted for 4 weeks during the finisher phase. Feed and water were given ad libitum. At the end of 4 weeks, 3 birds from each replicate giving a total of 9 birds per treatment were slaughtered for carcass and internal organ evaluation. Result from the carcass evaluation showed that dressed carcass, breast, thigh, wing and drumstick of OA treated groups were not significantly (P>0.05) different from the control. The backcut was significantly (P<0.05) heavier in control than in AA and CA. Abdominal fat in birds fed OAs was statistically similar to the control. The liver weight was significantly (P<0.05) reduced by BA and FA while the weight of spleen was reduced (P<0.05) by all the OAs. The caecum and the large intestine were significantly (P<0.05) enlarged in the control. There was non effect (P>0.05) on other internal organs.

Effects of garlic (Allium sativum ) and vitamin E on blood profile, growth performance and internal organ characteristics of rabbit bucks

Studies have shown that garlic has medicinal, antimicrobial properties, speeds up digestion and widely used as preservatives, spice and condimentin many homes. Vitamin E on the other hand is a fat soluble vitamin with potent antioxidant properties essential for the stabilization of biological membranes, protecting cells from oxidative stress and inhibits angiogenesis. Thus, a study using thirty-six (36) pre-pubertal New Zealand White rabbit bucks was conducted to investigate the response of garlic and vitamin E supplementation on haematological indices, serum biochemistry and growth performance. The bucks were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments and replicated three times in a completely randomized design (CRD). Each dietary treatment consisted of rabbits per treatment with 3 rabbits per replicate. Four dietary treatments were formulated to meet the nutrient requirements of rabbits supplemented at 0% garlic and vitamin E (T ), 3% garlic (T ), Vitamin E (T ), and 3% garlic and Vitamin E (T ) respectively. Data collected on the growth performance, haematology and serum biochemistry parameters and on the internal organ characteristics were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results showed that significantincrease (P<0.05) were observed in final body weight, ear length, forelimb, hind- limb and body length for rabbits fed supplementation of garlic, vitamin E and its combination, while tail length, head to shoulder significantly decreases. Hematological parameters showed significant increases in red blood cellcount for vitaminE group while T was higher on MCHC. White blood cell and its differentials increased significantly on T, T and T Serum biochemical characteristics were significantly higher on total protein, globulin and creatinine; while cholesterol, glucose and ALP reduced significantly on T , T and T It could be concluded that combination of garlic and vitamin E improved performance and blood profile of rabbit bucks compared to when they are used individually.

Effect Of Processing Methods Of Bambara Groundnut Offal Diets On Haematology And Carcass Characteristics Of Broiler Finisher Chickens

The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of two methods of processing Bambara Groundnut Offal (BGO), toasted and enzyme supplemented in broiler chicken diets on haematology and carcass characteristics of broiler finisher chicken. One hundred and eight (108) four- weeks- old unsexed commercial broiler chicks were divided into three groups (T10% T220% T320%) of 36 birds, each replicated three times with 12 birds per replicate in a completely randomized design and fed for 28 days. Haematological parameters were not significantly (p>0.05) affected. Result of carcass characteristics showed that live weight, eviscerated weight, dressed weight, back weight, drumstick weight, breast weight, thigh weight and caecum weight were significantly (p<0.05) affected. Birds fed enzyme supplemented BGO diets recorded higher weights compared with birds fed toasted BGO and the control diets. Other carcass characteristics such as wing weight, neck weight, head weight, shank weight and other internal organ characteristics were not significantly (p>0.05) affected.
 From the result, significant parameters have shown that birds fed bioenzyme supplemented BGO diets were superior to birds fed toasted BGO and the control diet. It is therefore recommended that 2g/kg bioenzyme supplemented BGO diet should be used at 20% BGO inclusion rate for finishing broiler chicken without adverse effect on the haematology and for increased carcass weight.

Betel Nut Husks as An Alternative Litter Materials for Broiler Production

Background and Objective: The availability of rice hulls has become infrequent due to competition and the development of residual rice by products; therefore, it has forced farmers to seek alternative litter materials. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of using betel nut husks compared to rice hulls or dried leaves as litter material for broiler production on productive performance, carcass traits and internal organ characteristics. Materials and Methods: A total of 270 unsexed one-day-old broiler chicks (Lohmann) were included the study; a completely randomized design including three treatments with six replicates consisting of 15 chicks each was applied. The treatments comprised betel nut husks, rice hulls and dried leaves as litter materials. Standard feeding and management practices were followed during the experimental period. The body weight and feed intake were recorded weekly and the body weight gain and feed conversion ratio were calculated. Two broilers from each pen were used to measure the carcass traits, abdominal fat pad quantity and internal organ weight at 35 day of age. Results: The results from the present study showed that the litter materials did not affect (p>0.05) body weight gain,feed intakeand feed conversion ratios during the experimental period. The carcass yield and abdominal fat quantity were not influenced (p>0.05) by the litter material. There was no difference(p>0.05) among the three litter materials in the internal organ weight; however, the gizzard weight was higher (p<0.05) in the broilers reared on rice hulls than in those reared on dried leaves and betel nut husks. Conclusion: Betel nut husks can be used as an alternative litter material for broiler production without sacrificing the performance of broiler chickens

KARATERISTIK ORGAN BAGIAN DALAM AYAM BURAS YANG DIBERI PAKAN MINYAK KELAPA (Cocos nucifera) DALAM RANSUM

INTERNAL ORGANS CHAR ACTERISTICS OF NATIVE CHICKEN FED BY COCONUT OIL (Cocos nucifera) ON DIET. The research was carried to determine the internal organs characteristics of buras chickens fed coconut (Cocos mucifera) oil in diet. A total 100 unsexed buras chickens was used in this experiment. The design used in this study was a completely randomized design (CRD) consisting of 5 treatments and 5 replications (4 hens each). The data were subjected to analysis of variance, when the treatments indicated significant effect it was continued Duncan’s Multiple Range Test. Five dietary treatments containing 0, 0.5%, 1 %, 1,5%, and 2% levels of coconut oil (CO) with five replicates were applied to chickens. Parameters measured were body weight, heart, liver, pancreas and gizzard weight. Result showed that CO in the ration significantly increased the body weight (P&lt;0.01) but did not affect to heart weight, liver weight, pancreas weight and gizzard weight.(P&gt;0.05) It can be concluded that coconut oil in the diet can’t increase the internal organ characteristics. We can gave the 2% CO in the diet for the best results. Key words: Internal Organs, Coconut Oil, Buras Chickens

Carcass and Fur Yield, Internal Organ Characteristics and GIT Morphometry of Rabbits Fed Diets Containing Composite Mango (Mangifera indica) Fruit Reject Meal

Carcass and Fur Yield, Internal Organ Characteristics and GIT Morphometry of Rabbits Fed Diets Containing Composite Mango (Mangifera indica) Fruit Reject Meal

Biometry of Male Genitalia and Internal Organ Characteristics of Indigenous Genotypes of Domestic Fowl in the Southern Guinea Savanna Region of Nigeria

Biometry of Male Genitalia and Internal Organ Characteristics of Indigenous Genotypes of Domestic Fowl in the Southern Guinea Savanna Region of Nigeria

Performance and internal organ characteristics of finisher broilers fed the wild yam (&lt;i&gt;Anchomanes difformis&lt;/i&gt;) tuber

A 28-day feeding trial was carried out to evaluate the effect of replacing maize as a major source of energy with wild yam (Anchomanes difformis) meal (WYM) in the diets of finisher broiler. One hundred and eighty (180) finisher broilers were fed on five experimental diets formulated such thatthe maize in diet 1 (control) was replaced with 10% and 20% of raw yam (RWYM) in diets 2 and 3 respectively, while diets 4 and 5 contained 10 and 20% cooked wild yam (CWYM) respectively. Cooking improved the utilization value of wild yam, since there were significant differences (p0.05) between the performances of birds fed on cooked wild yam meal and the maize-based (control) diets. The result showed that cooking may have reduced or eliminated the observed toxicants (tannins and trypsin inhibitors) present in wild yam meal. Feed intake and body weight gains of the birds decreased with increasing levels of wild yam inclusions. The feed utilization efficiency of the birds was not significantly affected (p>0.05) by the dietary levels of wild yam meal. The internal organs expressed as a percentage of the body weight were not affected (p>0.05) by the treatments. The result of this trial suggests that cooked wild yam meal can substitute for maize in broiler finisher rations up to 20% dietary level without deleterious effect on performance.Keywords: Wild yam meal, broiler, chicken, internal organs weight, maize, feed

Growth performance, body measurements, carcass composition and some internal organ characteristics in young Pekin ducks

The aim of the study was to compare the bodyweight and body measurements, carcass composition, and characteristics of major visceral organs in male and female Pekin ducks. A total of 80 hybrid SM3 Heavy ducks were kept in a conventional building and fed complete commercial diets ad libitum. The male and female were weighed individually at one day old and their bodyweight and body measurements were determined at 21, 35 and 49 days of rearing. On day 49, 20 males and 20 females were chosen for slaughter. After slaughter, the carcasses and visceral organs were collected. No significant differences were observed between males and females in bodyweight (1 d, 58.6 vs 56.3 g to 49 d, 3518 vs 3433 g) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) (0–49 d, 2.44 vs 2.49 kg/kg gain). At 35 days old males demonstrated a significantly longer body and shanks and, at 49 days old a significantly longer body than females. The sex of ducks had no significant effect on the percentage of wings, muscles from breast and legs, skin with subcutaneous fat, abdominal fat and carcass remainder. The neck content was significantly greater in male carcasses than female ones. The contents of proventriculus, liver, and spleen in the bodies of males and females were similar. Gizzard percentage was significantly greater in males, and heart percentage was significantly greater in females. Due to their high bodyweight, good FCR, and favourable carcass composition, SM3 Heavy male ducks are more useful as broiler duck than females.Keywords: carcasses, digestive system, growth, Pekin duck, sex