Converting the Waste of Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato Biomass to Improve Performance Characteristics and Vitamin Profile of Broiler Chickens

A six weeks study was conducted to determine the effect of partial replacement of maize with Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato (OSP) root meal on the performance characteristics and vitamin A profile of broiler starter chickens. One hundred and eight (108) day old broiler chicks were randomly allotted into 4 dietary treatments with 3 replicates in each treatment and each replicate consisting of 9 birds. The dietary treatments were formulated to contain 0%, 6%, 12%, and 18% level of OSP root meal for T1, T2, T3, and T4, respectively. The experiment design was a Completely Randomized Design. Final body weight, average total weight gain, average daily weight gain and feed conversion ratio had significant differences (P < 0.05). The highest values for final body weight, average daily weight gain, and average total weight gain were obtained in treatment 1 and lowest values were obtained in treatment 4. The feed conversion ratio was similar and best for birds in treatments 1, 2, and 3, while birds in treatment 4 had poorer feed utilization and feed conversion ratio of 2.61. Broilers fed with 6%, 12%, and 18% OSP root meal recorded higher vitamin A profile than the control group (28.90, 26.92, and 32.08 vs. 25.85 µg/dl, respectively). Thus, the inclusion of OSP root meal should not exceed 12% in the diets of broiler starters for maximum performance of birds while 18% inclusion level is recommended for best vitamin A profile. Graphical abstract Source: Feedepedia