ABSTRACT

An experiment was carried out to investigate the effect of direct-fed-microbe (Zymomonas mobilis treated orange waste) on broiler birds. One hundred and eighty Anak broiler birds were used in the study which was randomly divided into three (3) groups of 60 birds per group. Each group was assigned to one of the experimental diets. The birds were fed ad-libitum and clean water mixed with vitamin solution was given. They were weighed at the beginning of the study and at weekly intervals for 56 days. Feeds were measured before given for data collection. The result on daily weight gain was highest in treatment B (27.6g) (P>0.05), and the highest feed intake was observed in treatment B (89.5g), and the best feed conservation ratio of 3.2 was also noted in treatment B and A respectively (P<0.05). Based on the economic benefits studied, the costs of production were generally high in treatment B (N629.0), followed by A (N584.6) and C (N 546.1). The highest revenue was observed in treatment B (N 968.0), followed by A (N 860.0) while the poorest was noted in treatment C (N 665.2) (P<0.05). The results of this study showed that orange waste could be treated with Zymomonas moblus and then used as component of broiler diet for feeding birds with good economic returns. Therefore, it is recommended that, where orange wastes are cheap, they should be treated and fed as direct-fed-microbes to birds.