ABSTRACT
The implications of replacing groundnut cake (GNC) with urea-fermented brewer’s dried grains (BDG) in finisher broiler diets on the blood parameters and performance characteristics were investigated. Urea-fermented brewer’s dried grains were used to replace GNC at 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% levels in finisher broiler diets. Diets were formulated to be isonitrogenous and isocaloric to provide 20% crude protein and 3000 Kcal/Kg metabolizable energy. One hundred and ninety-five 35 days old broiler chicks (Anak breed) were randomly allocated to five treatment groups of 13 chicks per replicate and 39 chicks per treatment and fed ad libitum in rearing cakes. At 8 weeks, the means of body weight, daily weight gain, daily feed intake and feed: gain ratio were similar (P > 0.05) for all treatment groups. Apart from RBC, WBC, albumin, urea, hydrobicarbonate and creatinine values which were significantly (P < 0.05) influenced, all other blood parameters were similar (P>0.05). The use of urea-fermented BDG as a replacement for GNC in finisher broiler diets has no adverse health implications as results indicate absence of pathological abnormalities. |
KEYWORDS: |
Urea-fermented BDG, groundnut cake, blood parameters, performance, pathological abnormalities, finisher broiler. |
