Effects of feeding varying dietary levels of chromolaena odorata leaf meal on broiler starter chicks

Abstract

Two hundred and forty (240), 14-day old Anak broilers were used to evaluate the performance, nutrient utilization and organ characteristics of starter broilers fed Chromolaena odorata leaf meal. The birds were randomly divided into four treatment groups identified as T1, T2, T3, and T4 consisting of 60 birds per treatment group. Each treatment group was replicated 3 times with 20 birds per replicate. Four starter broiler diets were formulated to contain Chromolaena odorata leaf meal at 0% (T1), 5% (T2), 10% (T3) and 15% (T4) and fed to the birds in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD). Results showed that the control (T1) had significantly low feed intake, superior feed conversion ratio, weight gain and organ weight compared to T2, T3 and T4 respectively. The utilization of dry matter (DM), crude protein, crude fiber, either extract and ash was significantly better (p<0.05) at the 0% dietary level compared to T2, T3 and T4 that were similar. From the results of this experiment, it would appear that there is need to decrease the dietary level of Chromolaena odorata leaf meal in starter broiler diet below 5% to determine its optimal dietary level.

Keywords: Chromolaena leaf meal, broilers, performance, organ weight, feed