CARCASS AND HAEMATOLOGY PARAMETERS OF BROILER CHICKEN REARED ON SUN CURED SESAME SUPPLEMENTED SESAME DIET
Abstract
The study was conducted to assess the effects of inclusion of sun-cured sesame meal as supplement for soya bean meal on performance and haematological characteristics of broiler chicken. Sesame is one the agricultural products that is readily available, cheap and can be used to reduce cost of livestock feed. a total of 150 day old broiler chicks of relatively the same weight was randomly allotted to five dietary treatments replicated three times with ten chicks per replicate. The experimental design was completely randomized design (CRD). Five diets were formulated to contain different levels of sun-cured sesame meal at 0%, 10%, 20%, 30% and 40%. At the end of eight weeks, two birds per replicate were slaughtered for carcass characteristics. Treatment effects on carcass characteristics (live weight, bled weight, eviscerated weight, dressing weight, drumstick and breast) were not significant. However, variations in organs (liver and gizzard) were significant with birds on T2 (20%) having the highest liver weight of 63 compared to 42 observed for birds reared on T1 (0%). The gizzard increased significantly for birds on T4 (30%) compared to 50 for those on T1 (0%). Blood was collected from two birds per replicate and analyzed for haematological indices. The supplementation of broilers diet effected a signicant (P<0>
Prof. Grace Tayo
Dr. Gibson Chioma
Mrs. Lois Ndubuisi-ogbonna