RESPONSE OF BROILER FINISHER CHICKENS FED GRADED LEVELS OF EGUISI MELON SEED CAKE AS REPLACE FOR TOASTED FULLFAT SOYA BEAN MEAL

Abstract

The experiment was carried out to investigate the effect of graded levels of eguisi melon seed cake (EMSC) in the broiler finisher diets as replacement for toasted full fat soya bean meal (TFSB). EMSC was included in the diets at 0 %, 25 %, 50 %, 75 % and 100 % levels and coded as diets 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 respectively. Two hundred and twenty five (225) five weeks old Ross 308 strains of broilers were used in the experiment in a completely randomized designed (CRD). The result obtained from this research revealed that there was significant (p<0.001) differences in final weight (FW) and daily weight gain (DWG) while no significant (p>0.05) was observed in feed conversion ratio (FCR) and initial weight (IW). The highest daily feed intake was recorded in birds fed diets 2 (130.58 g) while the least was recorded at 100 % level of inclusion of EMSC. The results also showed that birds on diets 2 had the highest total weight gain (1530 g) and daily weight gain (72.86 g) respectively while those on diet five showed the least final weight gain and daily weight gain respectively. Although there was no significant difference recorded on the FCR and Iw, the best FCR was obtained from birds fed diet 2 (1.8) while the poorest result was obtained among those fed diet 4. The study concludes that EMSC can be included up to 25 % in broiler finisher chickens diet without compromising performance.