Influence of different energy sources on the performance of broiler chicks

Abstract

An experiment was conducted with 63 day-old Anak broiler chicks to investigate the growth response of broilers fed diets containing different energy sources. Three experimental diets were formulated such that diet I which served as the control contained maize as the major source of energy. Diets 2 and 3 contained millet and sorghum respectively, as the major source of energy. The chicks were randomly allotted to the three diets in a Completely Randomized Design. Each treatment consisted of 3 replicates. The experiment lasted for 28 days. The mean daily feed intake, body weight gain and feed conversion ratio values showed significant differences (P<0.05) between treatments. Birds fed T₂ (millet-based) diet performed better (P<0.05) than the other groups in body weight gain and feed conversion ratio. There was no significant (P>0.05) difference in body weight and feed conversion ratio of birds fed maize or sorghum based diet. The result of the experiment showed that millet could be used as the principal energy source in broiler diet with improved performance. The result also indicated that adequately ground, low-tannin sorghum could equally replace maize in broiler diets without any deleterious effect.

Keywords: energy sources, broiler chicksJournal of Technology and Education in Nigeria Vol. 9(1) 2004: 53-60