Growth and Performance as affected by inclusion of Moringa oleifera leaf meal in Broiler chicks diet

Abstract

The experiment was carried out to investigate the inclusion of Moringa oleifera leaf as feed additive in broiler chicks. Eighty Anak 2000 Strains of two weeks old were allotted to four treatments with five replicates of four birds each in a completely randomized design. Four different diets with metabolizable energy levels ranging from 2800 to 2900kcal/kg diet were formulated and fed to the chicks for a period of four weeks. The level of inclusion of Moringa oleifera leaf meal ranged from 0% which served as the control, 1%, 2% and 3% in the diet. Inclusion of Moringa significantly (P < 0.05) enhanced weight gain of birds at 2% level of inclusion. The inclusion of Moringa did not significantly (P < 0.05) enhance feed intake and feed conversion.

Keywords: Broiler chicks, Moringa oleifera, growth, feed intake, feed conversion