Carcass Characteristics and Internal Organs of Broilers Fed Roasted Pride of Barbados Seedmeal

Abstract

A feeding experiment was conducted at the poultry unit of the Teaching and Research Farm of the Oyo State College of Agriculture, Igboora located on latitude 7¹34⁰ and longitude 3¹28⁰E to evaluate the effects of dietary roasted pride of barbados seed meal on carcass characteristics and internal organ weights of broiler chickens. Seventy-two day old Marshal broiler chicks obtained from Obasanjo Farms, Igboora, Nigeria were divided into four treatments and each treatment was replicated three times with a total of six birds per replicate. The ripened seeds of pride of barbados obtained within Igboora metropolis were roasted at 100-110⁰C using open flame for seventeen minutes in an open pan. The seeds were considered roasted when about 75-80% of the seed cracked. The roasted pride of barbados seedmeal was included at different levels 5,10 and 15 percent respectively in broiler rations. The experiment lasted for eight weeks. There were significant variations (P<0.5) in the value of all the parameters except in the mean values recorded for lung and empty gizzards in some treatments. Higher values were recorded in 10% inclusion level of roasted pride of barbados seedmeal than all other treatments, while the least values were recorded in 0% inclusion level of roasted pride of barbados seedmeal. From this seedmeal in broiler ration was found to be beneficial at 10%.

Keywords: Anti-nutritional factors; Broiler; Carcass; Internal organs; Proximate analysis, Roasted pride of barbados seedmeal.