INFLUENCE OF AVOCADO (Persea americana) and BAMBOO (Bambusa arundinaceae) COMPOSITE LEAF MEAL ON THE PERFORMANCE INDEX AND HEALTH STATUS OF BROILER CHICKENS

Abstract

A six week feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the performance index and health status of broiler chickens fed diets containing varying levels of Avocado-Bamboo composite leaf meal (CLM). The avocado and bamboo leaves used in the experiment were manually harvested, air-dried and milled to become avocado and bamboo leaf meal respectively after which they were mixed in ratio 1:1 to form the CLM used in the feeding trial. The leaf meals and the CLM were then analyzed for their chemical composition. The CLM was added to the broiler basal diet at 0 g/kg, 4 g/kg, 8 g/kg and 12 g/kg levels. One hundred and sixty day-old Cobb broiler chicks were randomly allotted to four (4) treatment groups of four (4) replicates with ten (10) birds each. At the end of the feeding trial, the performance index, carcass characteristics and relative organ weight were measured. Blood samples were collected and analyzed for haematological, serum biochemical indices and antioxidant properties. The result showed that the weight gain of birds fed CLM supplemented diets at levels 4 g/kg (2491.23g) and 8 g/kg (2364.63g) were similar but higher (p < 0.05) than those fed the control diet (2174.75g) at day 42. The relative weight of the drumstick, the back and the heart also significantly (P<0.05) increased (107.79g/kg, 165.77g/kg and 5.77g/kg, respectively) in birds fed diet with 4gCLM/kg feed. The mean cell volume (MCV), Mean cell haemoglobin (MCH) and percentage lymph which was higher in birds fed diet with 4gCLM/kg feed (169.6g/dl, 56.53pg/cell and 84.0%) than the other diets. Aspartate transaminase (AST) was also higher (112.52μ/L) in birds fed 4gCLM/kg feed than others. It is therefore recommended that the CLM used in the present study be added up to 8 gCLM/kg feed in broiler chicken diet to improve performance and carcass traits of the broiler chickens without compromise on the health status.