Assessment of carcass yield, organ weights and haematological indices of broiler finisher chickens fed urea plus methionine treated and fermented sorghum beer residue

Abstract

The carcass yield, organ weights and haematological indices of finished broiler chickens fed urea plus methionine supplemented and re- fermented sorghum beer residue (RSBR) were investigated after a 4-week finisher period. Three hundred (300) 28days broiler birds were randomly allocated to 15 pens (20 birds per pen) for the finishing period. They were fed diets containing RSBR at graded levels of 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 %. At day 56th, three birds from each pen were selected for blood sampling and carcass analysis. The dressing percentage of birds on 50% RSBR diet was significantly higher (P < 0.05) compared to others. The breast weight percentage for birds on the control was observed to be highest significantly (P<0.05) while that for birds on 100% RSBR was lowest (P<0.05). The thigh percentage of birds on control and 50% RSBR diets were similar but significantly (P<0.05) higher than those of birds on other diets. Heart and gizzard percentages of birds on 100% RSBR diet were significantly higher (P < 0.05) than those on control and other diets. The packed cell volume and haemoglobin concentrations of birds fed on all RSBR supplemented diets were within normal ranges but were significantly higher (P < 0.05) than those of birds fed control diet. This study indicated that up to 75% RSBR can adequately support carcass yield, and organ weights without detrimental effect on finisher broiler chickens.