Feeding Full Fat Palm Fruit Meal Diets with Enzymes to Broiler Chickens: 1. Growth Performance and Economics

Abstract

In previous work, we reported no deleterious effect in feeding broiler chickens with up to 14.30% of Full Fat Palm Fruit Meal (FFPFM) with no enzymes. This particular study was aimed at evaluating the effect of feeding graded levels of FFPFM diets with fibre degrading multienzymes on the growth performance and economics of broiler chickens. A total of one hundred and forty four one-day-old broiler chicks of Arbor Acre breeds were assigned to 4 experimental diets and randomly allocated to 16 units in a completely randomized design. The birds were fed graded levels (0, 5.0, 7.50 and 10.20% at starter and 0, 7.0, 9.50 and 14.30% at the finisher) of FFPFM with one level of fibre degrading multienzymes, maxigrain (each gram containing cellulase, 10000IU; beta-glucanase, 200IU; xylanase, 10000IU and phytase, 2500FTU) at 100g/tone of feed across T2, T3 and T4. Data were recorded on feed intake and weekly weight changes. On day 56 of the experiment, eight birds per treatment were randomly selected from each of the replicates, starved overnight and slaughtered to evaluate growth performance and economics. There was no significant difference (p>0.05) at starter and finisher phases in total weight gain, daily body weight gain, feed conversion ration and feed efficiency across treatments. However, highest values were recorded for birds in T3 group on final body weight per bird at starter and finisher phases. Although there were no effects in the economic parameters across treatments, T3 group recorded the highest values for gross margin and revenue per bird. Additionally, no effect of enzymes supplementation was recorded. Thus, up to 14.30% of FFPFM with or without enzymes could be used in broiler diets without any deleterious effects on growth performance and economics.

Keywords: full fat palm fruit meal, enzymes supplementation, broiler chickens, cellulose digestion, economics