EFFECTS OF FEEDING DIFFERENTLY PROCESSED DOUM PALM (Hyphaene thebaica) PULP MEAL ON PERFORMANCE OF BROILER CHICKENS

Abstract

The effects of feeding differently processed Doum Palm Pulp (DPP) were tested on performance of broiler chickens in a feeding trial which lasted for 28 days. In a completely randomized design, a total of 150 one- day-old broiler chicks (Agrited strain) were randomly allotted to five dietary treatment groups of 30 chicks with three replicates of ten chicks each. The treatment diets were labelled as T1=0% Control, T2=25% - Raw Doum Palm Pulp Meal (RDPM), T3=25% - Soaked Doum Palm Pulp Meal (SDPM), T4=25% - Boiled Doum Palm Pulp Meal (BDPM), T5=25% - Roasted Doum Palm Pulp Meal (RDPM). Feed and water were given ad libitum throughout the experimental period. Feed intake was recorded on a daily basis while weight gain was recorded on a weekly basis. Data collected were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) using SAS package. The results revealed nonsignificant (p>0.05) differences across all the treatment means observed. Daily feed intake (DFI) (66.56g/b/d) and final weight (1072.27g/b) were higher in T3 (soaked). T2 (raw) recorded the least value of daily feed intake (64.51g/b/d) and daily weight gain (34.78g/b/d). Cost of feed (N/Kg) and cost of feed consumed per bird (N/d) deceased with inclusion level of raw and differently processed doum palm pulp meal in the diet of broiler chickens. It was concluded that inclusion of DPP reduced cost of feed N/kg and revealed no significant (p>0.05) differences compared to control group and can be used to improve feed intake and wait gain in broiler chicken.