Biochemical Parameters, Carcass Characteristics and Organ Weight of Broiler Chickens Fed with Diets Containing Graded Levels of Sesame (Sesamum indicum l.) Seed Cake

Abstract

Broiler chicken production has since attracted the attention of many poultry farmers all over the world. This can be attributed to the fact that chickens can be raised from chick to adult within a short period of time. Thus, this study was carried out to evaluate the carcass characteristics and biochemical parameters of broiler chickens fed with diets containing graded levels of sesame cake. A total of 250 day-old Arbor Acres broiler chicks were used for the study. Birds were randomly allotted to five (5) treatment groups. Such that, their mean live weights were similar. Each treatment group consisted of 50 birds, subdivided into five replicates of 10 birds each in a completely randomised design (CRD). In addition, a control treatment (T1) group was also assigned, which birds received feed containing no sesame cake, while the feed given to other treatments (T2,T3,T4 and T5) contained 10 %, 15 %, 20 % and 25 % sesame cake respectively. All the diets were iso-nitrogenous and iso-caloric (23.5 % CP, 2800 Kcal/kg and 20 % CP, 3000 Kcal/kg M.E for starter and finisher respectively). Furthermore, feed and water were provided ad-libitum. The result of the starter phase showed that birds fed the control diet (P<0.05) ate more feed than those fed sesame cake diets. Weight gain fell as sesame cake content of the diet increased. Feed conversion (1.54) and protein utilization (2.81) were significantly (P<0.05) also better in the absence of sesame cake. While, during the finisher phase, there were no differences in weight gain and feed conversion as at the time of this research between treatments, and Feed cost/kg weight gain (₦266.25) (P<0.05) was better for treatments fed sesame seed cake. There were significant (P<0.05) differences in the carcass proportion of neck, wing, head, drumstick and back, but the pattern of these differences were haphazard. There were no significant differences between treatments in organ weights except for liver and empty gizzard. The results haematological and other serum biochemical indices showed that there were no significant difference between treatment means, except for neutrophils indicating that no physiological abnormalities resulted from the feeding of sesame seed cake to the chickens. Therefore, it was concluded that up to 25 % sesame seed cake can be used in the diets of broiler chickens without any adverse effects on carcass characteristics, biochemical parameters and profitability.