Growth Response and Cost Benefit Analysis of Starter Broiler Birds Fed Supplemental Levels of Black Plum Leaf Meal
Abstract
A research work was carried out to determine the influence of Black plum leaf meal on the growth performance and cost benefit analysis of starter broiler birds. Ninety-six (96) day old ‘Sayeed’ broiler birds were used for the research work. The birds were brooded for a week after which they were randomly distributed into four treatment group of twenty-four each been replicated three times with eight birds per replicate. Four different diets were formulated such that the black plum leaf meal was incorporated into the diets at the rate of 2.00%, 4.00% and 6.00% respectively, while treatment 1 served as the control with 0% level of Black plum leaf meal. Feed and water were given ad-libitum throughout the experimental period of twenty-one days. Proximate composition of the Black plum leaf meal was carried out. Birds on control diet was superior to birds in other treatments in terms of final body weight, body weight gain and feed conversion ratio, which was followed closely by those of birds in treatment 3 (4%bplm). Thus, birds in treatment 1 (control) had better performance among the treatments under review. Thus, black plum leaf meal can be added into the diet of starter broiler birds up-to the level of 6% without any detrimental effect on the bird’sperformance. Result for cost benefit analysis showed that birds in treatment 3 had the highest (P<0.05) profit of #528.54 when compared to the other treatments under review.
Keywords
Download Options
Introduction
With the current emphasis on improvement of livestock production in Nigeria, foliage plants have found an application without compromising nutritional standard (Ekenyem et al., 2003). The inclusion of leaves in the diet of poultry birds is becoming adaptable due to its availability and phytochemical constituents responsible for medicinal or organoleptic properties of the plant (Ugwu et al., 2013). It is a known fact that profitable livestock enterprise depends on the availability and affordability of feedstuff. With increased interest in foliage plants as feed ingredient, several plants have been assessed with respect to their effectiveness in yielding positive results in terms of growth and performance in poultry. Some of these plants include Napoleon imperialis, Ipomea asorfolia, Moringa oleifera, Azadirachta indica, Ipomea purpurea etc (Adeyina et al., 2014). One of such foliage plants is the Vitex doniana. Vitex doniana is among plants whose leaves has potentials for improving animal productive performance. It is an indigenous tropical plant distributed across tropical and sub-Saharan Africa coastal savannas and savanna woodland. The tree is none domesticated, but it is found at the centre of West African villages. The bark, leaves and roots of the plants are used in ethno-medicine for the management and treatment of numerous disorders such as microbial infection, cancer, rheumatism, hypertension and inflammatory diseases (Atawodi, 2005). The back of the stem is aromatic and serves as blood tonic. It has also been reported that the extract of Vitex doniana plant lowered blood pressure.
