Replacing Maize And Wheat Offal In Diet Of Cockerels With Sun-dried Cassava Peel Meal: Effect On The Digestibility Of Cell Wall Constituents.

Abstract

The effect of replacing dietary maize and wheat offal with varying levels of sun-dried cassava peel meal (CPM) containing cyanide on the digestibility of the cell wall constituents in cockerels were determined. Four hundred and ninety-two day-old Hyperco cockerels were raised on four experimental diets designated A, B, C and D and containing 0, 17.71, 22.30 and 45.64, respectively, sun-dried CPM at the starters phase and 0, 20.41, 24.95 and 51.75% at the finisher phase. The diets were formulated to be isonitrogenous and isocaloric. Significant differences (P<0.05) among treatments were observed in the intake of all the cell wall constituents at both phases. It was observed that while birds on diet B consistently recorded the lowest intake of the cell wall constituents with the highest digestibility values, those on diet C consistently recorded the highest intake with the low digestibility values. However, it was observed that the lower the dietary cyanide levels, the lower the retention of NDF and ADL in both the starter and finisher phases.