Apparent nitrogen corrected and true metabolisable energy of processed thevetia oil for broiler finisher birds

Abstract

Sixty, finishing broilers aged 35 days were used to determine the Apparent, Nitrogen corrected and True metabolisable energy value of thevetia oil. The oil was subjected to heat treatment of 110°C for 25 minutes. Four experimental diets consisting of a basal diet and three other diets in which thevetia oil was substituted for 2.5, 5.0 and 10.0% of the basal diet. The experiment lasted for 10 days, made up of a 7-day adjustment period and a 3-day total collection period. Protein and fibre retention were significantly (P<0.05) influenced by dietary thevetia oil level Three regression equations were derived for estimating the metabolisable energy value of thevetia oil viz: y = 2990 + 61.9x (AME), y = 3076 + 59.8x (TME) and y = 2848 + 57.2x (AME_n). The Apparent metabolisable energy (AME) of thevetia oil was determined to be 9180kcal/kg and 9056kcal/kg respectively.

Keywords: Thevetia oil, metabolisable energy, broiler finisher.