Utilization of graded levels of cowpea waste meal in broiler finisher ration

Abstract

A feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the performance of broiler finisher fed varying levels of cowpea waste (CWM) as a replacement for groundnut cake (GNC). Five isonitrogenous and iso-caloric diets were formulated using groundnut cake as the reference protein source in the control diet A. In diets B, C, D, and E; 20, 40, 60, and 80 percent of the (GNC) in the control diets A were replaced with cowpea waste meal respectively. The result showed that feed intake, growth and efficiency of feed utilization values were significantly (P<0.05) improved at the 60 percent (diet D) level of GNC replacement. Cost analysis showed that cowpea waste meal substituted diets were profitable as regard total cost of feed per kilogram of live weight gain.

Key word: Cowpea waste meal (CWM), feed intake growth rate, Broiler finishers