Growth performance traits of broilers exposed to crude oil flame emissions

Abstract

This study was a simulation of what obtains in the petroleum producing areas, where gas flaring and oil spill pollution effects are felt. The experimental design was a 2-factor factorial in a completely randomized design (CRD), with factor A as distances from the crude petroleum flame and factor B as the age of the birds in weeks. One hundred and eighty (180) Anak day-old broiler chicks were used in the study with 4 treatments of 45 birds per treatment, replicated thrice at 15 birds per replicate. A control was located in another poultry house outside the flame area. The crude oil was ignited in a metal burner, 22.86cm high with a diameter of 17.8cm and a thickness of 1.17cm designed for the purpose. Crude oil burning was from 6am to 10pm daily throughout the experimental period. Ambient temperature and relative humidity readings were recorded thrice daily (morning, afternoon and evening). The birds were fed ad libitum on a proprietory starter mash for 5 weeks, and a broiler finisher mash from for 3 weeks. Water was provided adlibitum. Routine inoculations and other medications were administered as and when due. The microclimatological experimental environment showed a generally lower light intensity, lower ambient temperature and high relative humidity. The values obtained in this study at an averaging time of 60 minutes (at 10 minutes interval) are higher than those stipulated by FEPA. There were no significant differences (p>0.05) in the effect of the treatments on the birds. Age of birds had highly significant (p<0.01) influence on all the performance traits measured, including weekly body weights, average daily gains, weekly feed consumption, weekly feed conversion (feed/gain) and weekly mortality. The findings suggest that further studies need to be conducted on whether there are physiological adjustments to the emissions by the birds that were not observed in the performance trait analysis.

Animal Production Research Avancees Vol. 3 (1) 2007: pp. 69-77