Use of sorghum on stepwise substitution of maize in broiler feeds in Niger

摘要

Withanobjectivetodemonstratethemeritsofdietsbasedonlocallyproducednon-tanninsorghumsasagainstMaizeatotalof2401-day-oldbroilerchicksEarlybirdstrainwererandomlyallocatedto20pens(12birdsperpen)withfourpenspertreatmentandfivetreatments,attheMaradiGovernmentpoultryfarminNigerforaperiodof12weeks.Birdswereallowedtoconsumefeedandwateronanad-libitumbasis.Thetreatmentsdietswere:i)Maize-based,ii)75%Maize+25%Sorghum,iii)50%Maize+50%Sorghum,iv)25%Maize+75%Sorghum,andv)Sorghum.Birdsconsumedwaterandfeedonanad-libitumbasiswithbodyweightsrecordedonday0,21,and49.Attheendoftheexperiment,5birdsperpenwererandomlychosenandslaughteredforcarcassanalysis.AllgrowthandcarcassdatawereanalyzedasarandomizedcompleteblockdesignusingtheProcMixedprocedureofR.Liveweightwasusedasacovariateduringcarcassdataanalysis.Bodyweightmeansof41gatd-0and1419gatd-49weresimilar(P=0.17)forbirdsfedonallfivetreatments.MeanGain/feed(G/F)ratiosweresimilarwithameanof540g/kgtod-49.BirdsfedMaize-based,sorghum-basedorMaize-sorghum-baseddietshadsimilargrowthperformanceandcarcasscharacteristics.Thus,tanninfreesorghumhadnutritionalvaluecomparabletothatofMaize,andinWestAfricalocalsorghumisagoodalternativeforpoultryfeedswhengrainspricearesimilar.