GROWTH PERFORMANCE AND CARCASS CHARACTERISTICS OF BROILER CHICKENS FED SOY-SESAME BASED DIET SUPPLEMENTED WITH PHYTASE

Abstract

A 56-day study was conducted to investigate the performance and carcass characteristics of broiler chickens fed soy-sesame based diet supplemented with phytase. Five experimental diets were formulated in which sesame seed meal was replaced at 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% inclusion level with enzyme supplementation. One hundred and fifty (150) broiler chicks were allotted to five dietary treatments in a completely randomized design (CRD) with three replicates containing ten birds each. Diets were formulated to meet standard requirements, Water and the various treatment dieis were offered to the birds ad libitum for 8 weeks. Results showed that chicks fed 50% inclusion of sesame seed meal with phytase had significantly (P<0.05) higher final weight gain and feed intake at both phases while the lowest values were recorded for feed/gain ratio varied significantly (P<0.05) during the starter phase (2.58-3.10). The carcass characteristics showed a significant difference (P<0.05) in some of ihe parameters measured. It can therefore be concluded that sesame seed meal can be included up to 50% in the diet of broiler chickens without any negative effect.