Department of Animal Science, Delta State University, Asaba Campus, Delta State, Nigeria
Isikwenu, J.O., Department of Animal Science, Delta State University, Asaba Campus, Delta State, Nigeria; Udeh, I., Department of Animal Science, Delta State University, Asaba Campus, Delta State, Nigeria; Ifie, I., Department of Animal Science, Delta State University, Asaba Campus, Delta State, Nigeria
The effect of replacing Groundnut Cake (GNC) with enzyme supplemented Brewer's Dried Grains (BDG) at 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% graded levels in cockerel chicks at 6-11 weeks of age was investigated. Five dietary treatments were formulated to be isonitrogenous and isocaloric to provide 20% crude protein and 2900 kcal/kg metabolizable energy. Two hundred and twenty-five 5 weeks old cockerel chicks (Abor-Acre breed) were randomly allocated to five treatments replicated thrice with 15 cockerels per replicate, fed and watered ad libitum in deep litter pens for 6 weeks. Means of body weight, total weight gain, daily weight gain, feed intake, feed: gain ratio, blood parameters and economic assessment of cockerels fed the control diet, 25 and 50% enzyme supplemented brewer's dried grains diets were significantly (p<0.05) better than those fed 75 and 100% inclusion levels. The use of enzymes supplemented BDG was more profitable than GNC in cockerel's diets when the replacement do not exceed the 50% level. Mortality ranged from 1.95-3.56%. © Asian Network for Scientific Information, 2012.
hemoglobin; animal experiment; animal food; article; body weight; Brewer dried grain; chick; controlled study; diet supplementation; economic evaluation; erythrocyte count; food intake; groundnut cake; hematocrit; hematological parameters; leukocyte count; mean corpuscular hemoglobin; mean corpuscular volume; mortality; nonhuman; peanut; plant residue; weight gain
