Performance, carcass and organ weight characteristics of broiler chickens fed diets containing graded levels of Gongronema latifolia

A forty-nine day (7 weeks) feeding trial was conducted on 150 day-old Anak 2000 broiler chicks to evaluate the effect of graded levels of Gongronema latifolia leaf meal on the performance, carcass/organ weight characteristics in a completely randomized design. The birds were assigned to five dietary treatments of 30 birds each, subdivided into 3 replicates, each containing 10 birds. There were no significant (P>0.05) treatment effects in average initial weights, average final body weight, average body weight gain and feed conversion ratio. There was significant depression in average daily feed intake (P<0.05) at 10% dietary level. Dietary levels of 2.5%, 5.0% and 7.5% GLLM (P<0.05) increased dressing percentage of the experimental birds. Percentage weights of necks, wings, thighs, drum sticks, breasts, hearts, liver, spleen, lungs and pancreas (expressed as percentage of live weights) were similar (P>0.05). However, dietary levels of 2.5% - 10.0% GLLM yielded significantly higher (P<0.05) percentage weights of proventriculus than the control diet. The result obtained from the experiment suggests that 7.5% dietary inclusion of the leaf meal can support normal broiler production. Keywords: leaf meal, broiler, performance, organ weight, Gongronema latifoli

Growth and Agonistic Responses of Yaffa Breed Cockerels Administered Testosterone Propionate

The effect of birds’ duration of administration (duration of exposure) to exogenous Testosterone propionate on total weight gain (TWG) and agonistic behaviours (ABs) were evaluated in the Teaching and Research farm of the University of Ibadan, in Southwestern Nigeria. Testosterone propionate (TP) was administered once weekly, to Yaffa breed cockerels in T1,T2,T3,T4,T5 (for 8,12,16,18 and 20 weeks respectively).Birds in T6,received no testosterone propionate.ABs were evaluated twice daily, on a scale of 1-4,where 1 stood for ‘least agonistic’ and 4 stood for ‘very agonistic’. Agonistic acts like Head and feather pecks,kicks,chases and pushes were visually evaluated  TP-administered birds had significantly (p<0.05) higher ABs and TWGs than the birds in the Control. Higher ABs however did not affect TWG and other growth parameters negatively Keywords: Cockerels, Testosterone propionate, Growth, Agonistic behaviour

Haematology, serum biochemistry and organ histopathology of broiler chickens fed graded dietary levels of Gongronema latifolia (Utasi)

An experiment was carried out to evaluate effects of different dietary levels of Gongronema latifolia leaf meal (GLLM) on blood parameters and  histopathology of broiler chickens. Five experimental diets were formulated. Diet 1 (control) contained 0% GLLM while diets 2, 3, 4 and 5 contained 2.5%, 5.0% 7.5 and 10.0% GLLM respectively. Each diet was fed to a group of 30 broilers (one week old) for 49 days. A dietary inclusion level of 10%  GLLM significantly (P<0.05) reduced RBC concentration but had no significant (P>0.05) effect on other haematological indices. There was a  significant (P<0.05) reduction of serum glucose at7.5% and10% and of AST at5%,7.5% and10%. Bilirubin increased significantly (P<0.05) 5%, 7.5,10% and 2.5% dietary levels of GLLM. Other serum parameters were not affected (P>0.05) by the treatments. There were no indications of pathologic significance in the liver, kidney, proventriculus or pancreas. An inclusion level of 10% Gongronema latifolia leaf meal in diet can therefore support normal broiler production. Keywords: Congronema_latifolia, broiler chickens, leaf meal, blood parameters, histopatholog

Performance characteristics of rabbits fed some wild evergreen forages

A ten-week trial was conducted to examine the effect of feeding four wild forages (Daniella oliveri, Sarcopcephalus latifolia, Vitex doniana and Ficus  thoningii) on the performance characteristics of rabbits; the four forages constituted treatments 1 – 4, respectively. Twenty four unsexed rabbits of mixed breeds aged, between four and five weeks with average weight of 514g were used for the study. The animals were randomly allotted to the  four treatments, each with three replicates of two rabbits per replicates. The parameters measured were, feed intake, weight gain, feed conversion ratio, carcass parts and organs weights. The results of the proximate composition especially crude protein (CP) and crude fibre (CF) were within the ranges of 15-30% CP and 20-45% CF respectively as recommended for optimum performance of rabbits. The results of the performance generally  showed positive growth response as all the forages had potentials for supporting rabbit growth. The live weight gain and feed intake of  experimental rabbits were significantly different (P<0.05). However, feed conversion ratio was not significantly (p>0.05) affected by the treatments. No health hazards of any nature were encountered throughout the experiment which may imply that these forages apart from supporting growth may also be medicinal. From the results, the best of the forages, viewed from the performance perspective, appears to be Ficus thoningi, which suggests that it may have supplied adequate nutrients that may be lacking in grassland pastures in the dry season, it is therefore recommended for  feeding of growing rabbits. Keywords: wild forages, rabbits, performance characteristics