Effect of Different Proprietary Poultry Feeds on Performance Carcass Characteristics and Serum Protein Metabolites in Broiler

Abstract

The effect of two different proprietary poultry feeds, one obtained from a manufacturer and the other from a distributor were compared with a control farm formulated ration. Performance characteristics, carcass traits and some protein metabolites of broiler chicks fed on these rations in a complete randomized design were studied. Results showed that Diet 1 promoted better (P<0.05) live weight gains than the other two rations during the starter phase. This was closely followed by Diet 3 which was also better (P<0.05) than Diet 2. During the finishing phase, there were no significant differences in live weight gains among the three Diets (P>0.05). The feed/gain ratio, final average body weight and protein efficiency followed the same trends as obtained for growth rates. The average carcass and dressed weight among birds were significantly different (P<0.05) with best response from those of Treatment 1 and least from Treatment 2. Average dressing parentage was higher on treatment 1 (P<0.05) than others. The serum creatinine and serum albumin were similar in all treatments with very low values for the former. Serum urea was inversely proportional to serum protein levels for the various dietary treatments while total serum protein followed the same trend as the protein levels for the three diets. Production economics data however, show that Diet 2 compares favourably with the control ration.