FUW TRENDS IN SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL
(A Peer Review Journal)
e–ISSN: 2408–5162; p–ISSN: 2048–5170
keywords: Broiler finisher chickens, commercial feed, on-farm formulated feed, performance, prime cuts
A three week experiment was conducted to assess the performance and prime cuts of broiler finisher chickens fed on-farm formulated and two popular commercial feeds marketed in Anyigba town, Kogi State. Five weeks old chicks of mixed sexes were employed for the study. A formulated finisher feeds (A1) and two finisher commercial feeds A2 and A3 were respectively fed to three groups of broilers finisher chickens. Each group was divided into three replicates of ten birds in a completely randomized Design (CRD) experiment. Feed and water were provided ad libitum. Results obtained for the study revealed that there was no significant (P>0.05) difference in terms of final body weight, weight gain and feed to gain ratio. However, A2 had numerically higher final body weight (2600.00 g) and weight gain (1320.00 g). Feed consumption was significantly (P<0.05) higher for A2 (3476.00 g) and A3 (3333.00) than A1 (2729.00). A1 had better feed to gain ratio. All the three test diets yielded no significant (P>0.05) difference in all the carcass prime cuts and organs of the broiler finisher chickens with the exception of the gizzard. The on farm formulated diet gave the highest gizzard value of 34.4 g/kg than 26.70 g/kg for diet A2 and 21.93 g/kg for diet A3. There was no mortality on any of the feeds. It is concluded from this study that the use of on-farm feeds resulted in a profitable enterprise. It is therefore, recommended that poultry farmers should consult expertise in feed formulation so as to benefit from these advantages.
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