Effects of Inclusion of Sundried and Fermented (Aspergillus oryzae) Cassava Peels in Broiler Diets on Performance

Abstract

The unprecedented increase in demand of conventional energy sources for livestock like maize, sorghum and wheat coupled with competition as human food in developing countries calls for search of alternative non-competitive sources especially for poultry. The objective was to determine the effects of the partial replacement of maize with sun-dried (SC) and fermented (FC) cassava peels in broiler chicken diets on performance. The SC and FC peels were incorporated in the diets at different levels to make seven treatments at 0, 5, 10 and 15% for the FC and SC peels. Two hundred and ten day-old cobb-500 broiler chicks were randomly allocated to the diets replicated three times with ten birds in each replicate fed on both starter and finisher rations formulated to be iso-caloric and iso-nitrogenous. The feed intake and weight gain were recorded and the feed conversion ratio calculated. The digestibility of the diets was determined using the total fecal collection method.

The mean daily feed intake varied from 114.8g/d for FC15 to 125.7 g/d for SC15 with SC15 being significantly (p<0.05) higher. The feed conversion ratio (FCR) varied from 1.77 in FC15 to 2.12 in SC15 and was affected by treatment. The CF apparent digestibility ranged from 33.02 for SC15 and 39.98% for FC15 treatment and differed significantly (p<0.05) between treatments.

In conclusion, the study demonstrated that sun-dried and fermented (Aspergillus Oryzae) cassava peels can be included in broiler diets to partially replace conventional energy sources without affecting their performance.