Condensed Tannin in Two Varieties of Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor): Effect on the Growth Performance and Nutrient Digestibility of Broiler Chickens

Abstract

Two hundred (200) 1-d old (Hubbard strain) broiler chicks were used to evaluate the effect of condensed tannin in different sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) varieties on the growth performance and nutrient digestibility of broiler chickens. The birds were randomly assigned to five (5) experimental diets of four (4) replicates each at ten (10) birds per replicate in a completely randomized design in a forty-two day feeding trial. Diet D1 contained 100% maize; D2 and D3 contained 50% and 100% red sorghum variety (RSV) while D4 and D5 contained 50% and 100% white sorghum variety (WSV) respectively as replacement for maize. The RSV had higher tannin content than WSV. Birds fed WSV based diets had higher (P≤0.05) weight gain with better feed conversion ratio than those fed RSV based diets. The sorghum based diets had a more digestible ether extract and nitrogen free extract (P≤0.05) than those fed D1. Conclusively, WSV could completely replace maize because of the lower (condensed) tannin levels while above 50% RSV replacement for maize may be deleterious.

Keywords

• broiler
• chicken
• digestibility
• growth