Coll. of Anim. Sci. and Anim. Health, Michael Okpara Univ. Agric., Umudike, PMB 7267, Umuahia, Abia State, Nigeria; Department of Animal Science, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria
Amaefule, K.U., Coll. of Anim. Sci. and Anim. Health, Michael Okpara Univ. Agric., Umudike, PMB 7267, Umuahia, Abia State, Nigeria; Obioha, F.C., Department of Animal Science, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria
An experiment was conducted with 150 black Bovan Nera pullets to evaluate the performance of pullet chicks fed raw or processed pigeon pea seed meal (PSM) diets. Pullets were fed 10% PSM-based diets for 8 weeks. The seeds were either raw or processed (toasted for 30 minutes, boiled for 30 minutes, or soaked in water for 24 hours). Each treatment was replicated three times, with 10 pullets per replicate. The layout of the experiment was a completely randomized design (CRD). The experimental diets were isoenergetic and isonitrogenous. Parameters measured were feed intake, weight gain and feed cost. The results showed that pullets fed 10% raw or processed PSM diets did not differ significantly (P>0.05) in all the performance parameters. PSM diets significantly (P<0.05) reduced total feed cost. It was concluded that PSM is a good protein source for pullets and that 10% raw or processed PSM could be incorporated into pullet chick diets.