Growth Performance and Carcass Characteristics of Broilers Fed Varying Levels of Ocimum gratissimum Leaf Meal

Abstract

A study was conducted to evaluate the growth performance and carcass characteristics of broilers fed varying levels of Ocimum gratissimum leaf meal. Eighty (80) day old broiler birds were used for the experiment, The eighty (80) birds were weighed and randomly allocated into four (4) treatment groups (T1, T2, T3 and T4) having twenty (20) birds per treatment. Each treatment was replicated four (4) times with five (5) birds per replicate. Treatment 1 served as the control and did not contain any Ocimum gratissimum leaf meal supplement, while treatments 2, 3 and 4 contained 0.25, 0.50 and 0.75% respectively of Ocimum gratissimum leaf meal supplement. The experiment lasted for eight (8) weeks. Results showed that there were no significant (p>0.05) differences among treatments in average daily feed intake and feed conversion ratio while significant (p<0.05) differences among treatments existed in average daily weight gain (ADWG). The study also revealed that there were significant (p<0.05) differences among treatments in dressing weight, dressing percentage, wing weight and heart weight, while significant (p>0.05) differences among treatments did not exist in the weights of neck, backbone, thigh, drumstick, shanks, breast, gizzard, liver, kidney and offal. Birds fed diets containing 0.25% OGLM had a better average daily weight gain, dressed weight, dressing percentage and heart weight than birds on other treatment groups. Based on the results obtained in this study T2 (diet containing 0.25% OGLM) was recommended as the most efficacious diet.