Comparative effect of self–formulated and four commercial diets on the growth performance, carcass and haematological parameters of broiler finishers in the tropics

Abstract

This study was conducted to evaluate growth performance, carcass characteristics, haematological parameters and cost effectiveness in broilers fed self-formulated and four commercial diets as coded T1 (Control diet), T2, T3, T4 and T5. A total of 220 Anak 2000 broiler chicks were allotted to five dietary treatments with 44 birds per diet and 11 birds per replicate in a completely randomized design. Feed and water were supplied ad libitum and the experiment lasted for 49 days. The daily feed intake (53.00 – 75.55 g), daily weight gain (26.73 – 43.36 g), feed conversion ratio (1.69 – 2.29) and mortality (4 - 14) were significantly affected by the dietary treatments (P < 0.001). Many of the carcass parameters measured were not significantly affected (P > 0.05) by the treatments. However, significant (P < 0.05) variations were observed in plucked weight (1.22-1.69 kg), eviscerated weight (1.13-1.59 kg), carcass weight (1.12-1.48 kg) and relative weight of pancreas (0.15-0.31%) as a proportion of live weight. The relative weight of head, spleen, and abdominal fat also differ (P<0.05) among the diets. Most of the haematological parameters studied were within the normal range and were similar except white blood cell (2.18-3.28%) which was significantly affected (P < 0.01) by the dietary treatment. The feed cost per kilogram gained ranged between N124.67 – N190.29 ($0.86 – 1.31) with the lowest value obtained for the self-formulated diet which proved to be most economical.

Keywords: Carcass yield, Economy, Gut weight, Performance, Poultry feeds