UTILIZATION OF ATILI (Canarium schweinfurthii) LEAF MEAL AT DIFFERENT LEVELS IN THE DIETS OF BROILER CHICKENS AT VOM, PLATEAU STATE

Abstract

The study was carried out to investigate the use of Atili leaf meal in the diets of broiler chickens. One hundred and fifty (150) broiler chicks were used in the study for a period of six weeks in a completely randomised design (CRD). The experimental diets consisted of five (5) inclusion level of Atili leaf meal (0.00%, 2.00%, 4.00%, 6.00% and 8.00%) designated as T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5 respectively. Growth parameters measured during the study include initial weight, final weight, weight gain, feed intake, the Feed conversion ratio and the cost of production. The carcass characteristics across the treatments was evaluated and the parameters measured include live weight, bled weight, defeathered, eviscerated and carcass weight. Dressing percentage internal organ and primal cuts were also calculated. The results obtained showed that the control treatment had the highest final weight 2786.67(g) while the treatment with 2.00% atili leaf meal had the lowest final weight of 2273.33(g). The weight gained was also observed to be higher in the control with no atili leaf meal and lowest in treatment 2. The Feed conversion ratio (FCR) was high in treatments 2 and treatment 5 while T1 had the lowest FCR. Also, the cost of production was observed to be highest in T1 compared to other treatments. But T1 was observed to have the highest mortality while T2 to T5 had no mortality all through the period of the experiment. The carcass results showed that there were significant (P<0.05) variations in the live weight, bled and defeathered weight, eviscerated and carcass weight. The dressing percentage was also significantly (P<0.05) influenced, the back weight, liver, intestine, back weight, the thigh and drum stick were also not significantly (P<0.05) affected by the treatments. Based on the result of this study, it can be concluded that Atili leaf meal can be used in the diets of broiler chickens as source of nutrients and for prophylactics thereby reducing the cost of production.