Effect of Feeding Pigeon Pea (Cajanus cajan) Seed Meal on Nutrients Intake and Growth Performances of Broiler Chicken Breeds

Abstract

The study was conducted to evaluate locally available feed ingredient for broiler breed, in 2017. For this study a total of 300 day-old chicks Cobb 500 strains of broiler chicks were initially raised together for one week in a brooding house. At the end of the brooding period (1 week), 285 chicks were randomly distributed into 15 pens equally; representing 5 feeding treatments to evaluate the performance of chicks fed varying dietary levels of pigeon pea seed meal (PSM) replacing soybean meal (SBM) up to the age of 56 days. Treatments were inclusion of PSM at 0 (T1), 5 (T2), 10 (T3), 15 (T4) and 20% (T5). Two birds were randomly selected from each replication for carcass evaluation at the end of the study. The crude protein content of PSM was 21%. Daily dry matter (DM) intake during the entire experimental period ranged 87.73 to 100.31 g/bird and greater value were recorded at T4 than T5 and T2. Daily body weight gain for the entire experimental period were 36.01, 35.76, 37.51, 34.96 and 36.02 g for T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5, respectively and values were greater for T3 as compared to T1, T2, T 4 and T 5. Replacement of PSM for SBM lowered yield of most parameters such as dressed weight, eviscerated weight, breast weight, thigh weight and drumstick weight. Depending on the production parameters measured, PSM can be substituted to SBM in broilers diet up to a level of 20% inclusion in the total ration without negative effect on biological performance and did not have any adverse effect on the health of birds, indicating the potential of the plant as an alternative feed ingredient in poultry feeding.

Keywords

• dry matter intake
• inclusion
• pigeon pea
• weight gain