Carcass characteristics and blood components of broiler chickens fed sorghum sk-5912 (<i>Sorghum bicolor</i> L. moench) variety in mixture with different plant protein sources

Abstract

The effect of feeding sorghum SK-5912 variety with different plant protein sources to broiler chickens on the carcass characteristics and blood parameters were investigated. Five diets were formulated in which maize with boiled soya bean (MBSB) was used as the control and sorghum SK-5912 variety was combined with boiled soya bean (SBSB), soya bean meal (SSBM), industrial ground nuts cake (SIGNC) and local ground nuts cake (LGNC) tagged as diets 1 (control), 2, 3, 4 and 5 respectively. Three hundred broilers chicks ‘marshal strain’ were randomly allotted to the dietary treatments with four replications in a completely randomized design. Feed and water were supplied ad libitum and the feeding trial lasted for eight weeks. At the end of feeding trial eight birds per treatment were randomly selected for carcass analysis, blood samples were collected for haematological and serum biochemical analysis. Results showed that all the carcass and gut parameters measured did not differ (P>0.05) significantly. Packed cell volume, Red blood cells, White blood cells and platelets were also not influenced (P>0.05) by the dietary treatments. However, results obtained were inferior in the control diet. Serum biochemical indices were also not affected except the high density lipoproteins (HDL) that was (P<0.05) affected across the dietary treatments. Despite control diet had the best HDL (mmo/L), but all values obtained were within the normal range. This study therefore, revealed that sorghum SK-5912 variety can completely replace maize and favourably combine with different plant protein sources with no detrimental effect on the carcass yield and blood constituents of broiler chickens.

Keywords: Broiler, Carcass, Haematology, Plant proteins, Serum, Sorghum SK-5912