Performance of Broilers Fed Diets Containing Wet or Sun Dried Fermented Mixture of Grated Cassava Roots and Palm Kernel Cake as Replacement for Maize

Abstract

The cost and effectiveness of drying processes have often limited the incorporation of solid state fermented agro by-products into poultry feeding programs. In this study, the efficacy of replacing maize with wet or sundried solid state fermented mixture of grated cassava root meal and palm kernel cake (FEMCARPP) was evaluated. 120 three weeks old broiler chickens were randomly allotted to four treatment diets replicated 3 times with 10 birds per replicate. The maize in control diet (T1) was replaced with either of wet, dry FEMCARPP or a 1:1 mixture of cassava meal and palm kernel cake (CSM-PKC) in treatments T2, T3 and T4 respectively. Performance data was collected on the live weight, weight gain and feed conversion efficiency. Though the chicks fed wet FEMCARPP had lower live weight gains and feed intake (p<0.05), their feed conversion ratio was similar (p>0.05) to the control and other treatment groups. Cost of feed per kg weight gained was best among chicks fed wet FEMCARPP suggesting that feeding broilers with solid state fermented mixture of grated cassava and palm kernel cake to broiler finishers without further processing such as sun drying would be effective in replacing maize in broilers diets.