Effect Of Replacing Soybean Meal With Lima Bean Meal On Finishing Broiler Chicken

Abstract

Lima beans (Phaseolus lunatus) was processed by soaking and toasting before usage to feed 75 broiler birds for 28 days. The birds were randomly assigned to five treatment diets with each treatment being replicated three times and containing five birds per replicate in a completely randomized design. The bean was soaked for twenty four (24) hours, oven-dried and then toasted. It was milled and then incorporated into diets. Excepts diet 1, each of the diets (2-5) contained quantitative replacement of soyabean with the processed lima bean at 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% levels respectively. The result showed a significant (P<0.05) difference in values of obtained for growth performance. There were also significant (P<0.05) differences in values of gizzard, spleen, kidney, proventriculus, heart and liver. Among cut parts, it is only the values of drum-stick that did not differ significantly (P>0.05). But for all the other parameters, there were significant differences (P<0.05). From the result, it is deduceable that feed intake of the birds decreased as the quantity of processed lima beans increased in the diet. It was only the birds on the diet II where only 5% of soyabean was replaced by lima beans that compared favourably with those fed with control diet. Hence, quantitative replacement of soyabean with lima bean should not exceed 5% to avoid poor performance.

KEY WORDS: Broiler chicken, lima bean, growth performance, carcass yield.

Global Journal of Agricultural Sciences Vol.3(1&2) 2004: 1-4