BIOLOGIC AND ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF INCLUDING DIFFERENT AGRO-INDUSTRIAL BY-PRODUCTS IN TURKEY POULT DIETS

Abstract

The biologic and economic effects of including three agro-industrial by-products as ingredients in turkey poult diets were investigated using 48 turkey poults in a completely randomised design experiment. Diets were formulated to contain the three by-products – wheat offal, rice husk and palm kernel meal, each at 20% level of inclusion and designated Treatment 2, 3 and 4, respectively. These were compared with a control diet (Treatment 1) that did not contain any of these by-products. Treatment 4 encouraged better performance (P<0.05) of the birds in terms of their final body weight (3175g), urowth rate (42.83g/d), and feed conversion ratio (1.03) than the other two experimental and control diets. Performance of birds on Treatment 3 was statistically the same (P>0.05) as for birds on control treatment in all the three biologic parameters investigated. These results were better than performance of birds on Treatment 2. The economic parameters (cost per kg feed, cost per kg weight gain and gross margin) followed similar pattern as the growth parameters above. The poults on Treatment 2 had higher (P<0.05) cost (N) per kg weight gain than poults on diets 1 and 3 whose values were similar but significantly (P<0.05) higher than that of birds on Treatment 4 which encouraged the best biological performance and the least cost per kg weight gain.



[Niger Agric. J. 34 (2003): 138-142]