Effect of wet feed on cockerel chicken performance

Abstract

An experiment was conducted with 66 day-old Hyperco cockerels. Cassava (Manihot esculenta) peels of mixed varieties were used for this study which lasted for 8 weeks. The peels were harvested at between 9-10 months of age from the cassava plantation of the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (I.A.R. &T), Moor Plantation, Ibadan. The chicks were randomly allotted to the two dietary treatments A (dry mash) and B (wet, "moist" mash). Each treatment consisted of 3 replicates. The mean daily feed intake, water consumption, body weight gain and feed conversion efficiency values showed significant differences (P<0.05) between treatments. Considering the ease in producing wet ("moist") feeds, their use in cockerel nutrition offers tremendous commercial benefits if suitable equipment are developed for mixing and delivering them to the birds.

Keywords: Dry mash, Wet mash, Growth Performance, Cockerel chicks.