Growth Performance and Haematological Indices of Broilers Fed Diets Containing Graded Levels of Gongronema Latifolium and Ocimum Gratissimum Leaf Meals.

Abstract

A study involving two experiments was conducted to determine the responses of broiler birds to varying dietary levels of Gongronema latifolium and Ocimum gratissimum leaf meals respectvely. In experiment I, ninety-six 14-day old unsexed commercial broiler chicks (Anak strain) were randomly divided into four groups of 24 birds each. Each group was randomly assigned to one of the four starter diets (11.92 -12.09MJ/kg ME and 24.01 -24.05% CP) and four finisher diets (12.26 -12.47 MJ /kg ME and 21.00-21.06 % CP) containing 0g, 100g, 150g, and 200g/25kgdiet) of Gongronema latifolium leaf meal (GLLM) at 6 weeks of age in completely randomized design(CRD). Each treatment was replicated two times with 12 birds per replicate. Feed and water were supplied ad libitum to the birds. In experiment II, ninety-six 14-day old unsexed commercial broiler chicks (Anak strain) were randomly divided into four groups of 24 birds each. Each group was randomly assigned to one of the four starter diets (11.92 -12.09MJ/kg ME and 24.01 -24.05% CP) and four finisher diets (12.26 -12.47 MJ /kg ME and 21.00-21.06 % CP) containing 0g, 100g, 150g, and 200g/25kgdiet) of Ocimum gratissimum leaf meal (OGLM) at 6 weeks of age in completely randomized design(CRD). Each treatment was replicated two times with 12 birds per replicate. Feed and water were supplied ad libitum to the birds. Each experiment lasted eight weeks. Results indicated that in experiment I significant (p<0.05) differences existed among treatments in the values of total weight gain (TWG), Daily weight gain (DWG), feed conversion ratio (FCR), protein efficiency ratio (PER) and feed cost per weight gain (FC/kg) for birds fed GLLM at starter phase. Significant (p < 0.05) differences also existed among treatments in daily feed intake (DFI), total feed intake (TFI), cost of daily feed intake (CDFI) and cost of total feed intake (CTFI) at the finisher phase. However, there were no significant (p > 0.05) differences in the final body weight (FBW) of broiler birds in both starter and finisher phases. Significant (p<0.05) differences existed among treatments in the mean values of packed cell volume (PCV), haemoglobin (Hb), white blood cell (WBC), cholesterol (CHL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) of the birds fed GLLM at the starter phase. Significant (p<0.05) differences were also observed in the mean values of all the haematological parameters except mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) at the finisher phase. Birds fed diet 4 (200g of GLLM /25kg diet) had the highest WBC value in both starter and finisher phases. Birds fed diets containing GLLM had significantly (p < 0.05) lower CHL values than those in the control group (in the starter and finisher phases); thus indicating that dietary inclusion of GLLM at the levels used in this study can reduce cholesterol concentration in broiler birds. The WBC values (9100cells/mm3 and 9300cells/mm3) for birds fed diet 4 (200 g of GLLM /25kg diet) was significantly (p < 0.05) higher than the values for birds fed other diets in the starter and finisher phases. It was concluded that while the dietary inclusion of GLLM and OGLM at levels 100g – 200g had no adverse effect on growth performance of the broiler birds, the inclusion of Gongronema latifolium leaf meal at the rate of 200g/25kg in broiler's diets may not be more cost effective at the starter phase. However, it had no deleterious effect on the growth performance of the birds and it also improved the overall birds’ health. Likewise, the dietary inclusion of Ocimum gratissimum leaf meal at the rate of 200g/25kg was the most cost effective, and resulted in the best overall birds’ performance at the starter and finisher phases.