Effect of sweet potato leaf meal on growth, haematology and meat quality of broiler chicken

Abstract

This study was conducted to assess the efficacy of sweet potato leaf meal (SPLM) as an alternative feed ingredient in broiler chicken ration using growth, haematology and meat quality parameters as criteria. One hundred and eight (108) started chickens were divided into four treatments with three replicates/ treatment and nine birds/ replicate in a completely randomized design. SPLM was included in their feed at 0(control), 5, 10 and 15 %. Data on body weight and feed intake were taken during the experiment. Blood parameters and meat quality were assessed at the end of the trial. Results showed that weight gain (WG), feed intake and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were significantly influenced (p<0.05) by SPLM treatments. Broiler chicken fed 5 % SPLM diet had 1.18 kg WG, which was statistically same as control whereas those on 15 % SPLM diet had the least value of 0.76 kg. Values for FCR increased progressively with increasing inclusion of SPLM, chickens on 0 % had a value of 2.79 and those on 15 % had 4.66. Inclusion of up to 15 % SPLM did not have any detrimental effect on blood profile and meat quality of the chickens. It was concluded based on growth performance that the use of SPLM in broiler chicken diets should not exceed 5 %.