Maize Meal Replacement Value of Air-Dried Irish Potato (Solanum tuberosum) Peel Meal in Broiler Chicken Diets

Abstract

Background: Rapid urbanisation and changing dietary patterns in Lesotho have increased reliance on expensive maize-based livestock feeds, creating interest in locally available agricultural by-products, including potato peels, as low-cost feed resources for broiler production. Aims: This study investigated the effect of air-dried Irish potato (Solanum tuberosum) peel meal used as a maize meal replacement feedstuff on broiler chicken performance during the starter and grower phases. Study Design: Completely randomised design. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted at the Department of Animal Science, National University of Lesotho, between August 2023 and December 2024. Methodology: One hundred and ninety-five day-old Cobb 500 broiler chicks were randomly allotted to five dietary treatments (D0, D5, D10, D15 and D20), with 39 birds per treatment and three replicates of 13 birds each. Five diets were formulated for a 28-day feeding trial. The control diet (D0) contained maize meal as the main energy source, whereas D5, D10, D15 and D20 contained Irish potato peel meal replacing maize meal at 5%, 10%, 15% and 20%, respectively. Data collected included the proximate and mineral composition of Irish potato peel meal, nutrient composition of the experimental diets and growth performance indices. Growth performance data were subjected to one-way analysis of variance, and significant means were separated using Duncan’s multiple range test. Results: Irish potato peel meal contained 3069.50 Kcal/kg metabolisable energy, 15.44% crude protein and 8.23% crude fibre. Feed intake, protein intake and body weight gain differed significantly during the starter phase, whereas no significant differences were observed for these indices during the grower phase. Conclusion: Irish potato peel meal can replace maize meal in broiler diets during the grower phase up to 15%, but its crude fibre content limits its replacement value during the starter phase.