Carcass yield and internal organs of broilers fed graded levels of full fat palm fruit meal diets with and without enzyme

Abstract

This study evaluated the effects of utilizing Full Fat Palm Fruit Meal (FFPFM) in two separate trials (i.e. with and without enzyme) on carcass yield and internal organs of broiler chickens. A total of one hundred and eighty (180) chicks of the Hubbard F15 strain were assigned to twelve experimental groups (i.e. six groups of with and six of without Maxigrain enzyme) in a completely randomized experimental design. The groups were: 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50% of FFPFM as partial replacement for maize designated as T1, T2, T3, T4, T5 and T6 respectively. On day 56, birds were randomly selected from each treatment and slaughtered to evaluate the carcass yield and internal organs. The result showed that there were significant differences in dressing percentage (DP) in both trials. Birds on T4 diet performed best in DP (88.96% and 89.46%, respectively) in with and without enzyme fortified diets. There were significant differences (P<0.05) in organ weights of broilers in both trials except the pancreas and gizzard of birds without enzyme inclusion. The results obtained showed that full fat palm fruit meal can also replace maize up to 40 – 50% in broiler diet for efficient production.

Keywords: Broilers, carcass, enzyme, palm fruit meal