Effect of replacement of sorghum SK–5912 for dietary maize on performance and economics of production of broiler chickens

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the performance and economic value of sorghum SK-5912 as replacement for maize in broiler diets at varying dietary levels. Five diets were formulated in which sorghum SK-5912 replaced maize at 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% levels coded as diets 1 (control), 2, 3, 4 and 5 respectively for starter (23% CP) and finisher (20%) rations using boiled soya bean as source of plant protein. Three hundred broiler Marshal” chicks were randomly allotted to the dietary treatments with four replications of fifteen birds per replicate in a completely randomized design (CRD). Feed and water were supplied ad libitum and experiment lasted for a period of eight weeks. Results revealed that daily feed intake, daily weight gain and feed conversion ratio were not significantly influenced by the dietary levels of sorghum SK-5912 as replacement for maize at the starter, finisher as well as the overall phases. The economics of production indicated that diet 5 (100% sorghum SK-5912) had the cheapest feed cost ₦/kg gain of ₦310.17 while the highest was diet 1 (₦347.70). It can therefore, be concluded that sorghum SK- 5912 variety can replace maize at 100% in the diets of broiler chickens without detrimental effects on performance and with concomitant reduction in feed cost.

Keywords: Broiler, Diet, Economic, Performance, Production, Sorghum SK - 5912