THERMOREGULATORY RESPONSE OF BROILER CHICKENS FED SUPPLEMENTAL BAOBAB (ADANSONIA DIGITATA L) LEAF MEAL UNDER HEAT STRESS

Authors

  • A. A. Olofin Federal College of Agriculture, Akure, Ondo State
  • M. T. Abdulkadir Federal College of Agriculture, Akure, Ondo State
  • D. F. Oladele Federal College of Agriculture, Akure, Ondo State
  • I. A. Agboola Federal College of Agriculture, Akure, Ondo State

Keywords:

Thermoregulation, Corticosterone, Heat stress, Ambient temperature, Broiler chickens

Abstract

The thermoregulatory response of broiler chickens fed Baobab (Adansonia digitata L) leaf meal supplementation was evaluated in a 7 weeks trial. Forty-five (45) Cobb 500 broiler chickens were used for the experiment. The birds were distributed into five (5) treatment diets in a completely randomized design and replicated three (3) times where three (3) chicks served as a replicate of each treatment diet. The five (5) dietary treatments were labelled T1 (0.00% BLM), T2 (supplemented with 0.025% BLM), T3 (supplemented with 0.05% BLM), T4 (supplemented with 0.075% BLM) and T5
(supplemented with 0.10% BLM). Data on ambient temperature, relative humidity, axillary and cloaca temperatures were taken, also faecal samples were collected for corticosterone analysis. Results showed significant differences (p<0.05) in the faecal corticosterone levels, birds on T5 (0.10% BLM) had the highest faecal corticosterone (1.094±0.041). The morning, afternoon and evening ambient temperature stood at 25.63±0.40°C, 33.38±0.40°C and 29.35±0.55°C respectively while the relative humidity was at 77.02±5.84%, 53.65±3.21% and 68.29±2.45% for these periods of the day. No statistical differences (P>0.05) were recorded for the axillary and rectal temperatures for different times of the day across the experimental groups, however, birds on T2 (0.025% BLM) had the lowest axillary (40.19±0.10°C), (40.27±0.01°C) and rectal temperature (40.47±0.11°C), (40.42±0.09°C) for morning and evening respectively and least rectal temperature (41.07±0.08°C) in the afternoon. The study thus concluded that supplementing baobab (Adansonia digitata) leaf meal in the diet of broiler chickens can help in ameliorating heat stress.

Author Biographies

A. A. Olofin, Federal College of Agriculture, Akure, Ondo State

Department of Animal Health and Production

M. T. Abdulkadir, Federal College of Agriculture, Akure, Ondo State

Department of Animal Health and Production

D. F. Oladele, Federal College of Agriculture, Akure, Ondo State

Department of Animal Health and Production

I. A. Agboola, Federal College of Agriculture, Akure, Ondo State

Department of Animal Health and Production

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Published

2024-09-10

How to Cite

Olofin, A. A., Abdulkadir, M. T., Oladele, D. F., & Agboola, I. A. (2024). THERMOREGULATORY RESPONSE OF BROILER CHICKENS FED SUPPLEMENTAL BAOBAB (ADANSONIA DIGITATA L) LEAF MEAL UNDER HEAT STRESS. Nigerian Journal of Animal Production, 539–543. Retrieved from https://njap.org.ng/index.php/njap/article/view/5057

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