Performance characteristics of broilers fed graded levels of Moringa oleifera leaf meal

Cost of conventional protein sources is on the increase recently; hence, there is the need for cheaper alternative sources that will not compromise the performance characteristics of broiler birds taking into consideration the cost of production. Moringa leaf meal has been reported to increase the performance of broiler birds due to its rich protein content. Two hundred day-old broiler chicks were used to assess the effects of partial replacement of soya bean meal with Moringa (Moringa oleifera) leaf meal on broiler chickens in an 8-wk feeding trial. The birds were randomly assigned in equal numbers into five dietary treatments: 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 % Moringa leaf meal (MOLM). Each treatment was replicated four times with 10 birds per replicate. The results showed that final weight, weight gain, daily weight gain, total feed intake, daily feed intake and feed conversion ratio were significantly (p0.05) effect on primal cut parts and relative organ weight. From the results of this study, replacement of soybean meal with MOLM up to 20% did not have any adverse effect on growth performance and carcass traits of broiler chickens