RESPOSE OF BROILER STARTER CHICKENS TO GRADED LEVELS OF BAUCHI RED SORGHUM (Sorghum bicolor L.) AS REPLACEMENT FOR WHITE MAIZE

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the response of broiler starter chickens to graded levels of Bauchi red sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) as replacement for white maize on the growth performance and cost-benefits analysis of broiler starter chickens.  Three hundred (300) day old broiler chicks were randomly distributed to five experimental diets with three replicates having twenty birds in each in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD). Five (5) different experimental diets were formulated and Bauchi Red Sorghum (BRS) replaced white maize at 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% levels coded as D1, D2, D3, D4 and D5 respectively. Performance parameters were measured and calculated which include initial body weight, final body weight, body weight change, daily feed intake, feed conversion ratio and cost-benefit analysis. The result of growth performance indicated that, there were no significant difference across treatment means for initial weights, weight at 4weeks, daily weight gain, daily feed intake and feed conversion ratio. Daily feed intake has decreased (from 78.67 g at 0% to 69.24 g at 100%) as BRS inclusion is increased in the diets. Feed conversion ratio (FCR) improved slightly at higher BRS inclusion (best at 100% with 1.55). There was steady reduction in feed cost per kilogram of feed (₦655.33 at 0%BRS to ₦631.93 at 100%BRS inclusion), indicating that BRS is a cheaper alternative to maize. In conclusion, Bauchi red sorghum variety has been found to replace white maize at 100% level in the diets of broiler starter chickens without compromising growth performance. Inclusion of Bauchi red sorghum as replacement for white maize led to the reduction in feed cost by 9.17% in broiler starter chickens. It was also recommended that Bauchi red sorghum should be included in the diet of broiler starter chickens as an alternative to white maize and further research is recommended to explore the use of Bauchi red sorghum variety in the diets of broiler finisher and layer chickens.