ABSTRACT

The study was carried out to determine the Growth performance of Broilers Fed processed

Cocoyam (Xanthosoma sagittfolium) as Energy source in place of Maize. The processed

cocoyam tuber meal was used to replace yellow maize in the diets of Starter and Finisher broilers

at various levels to determine the best replacement that would give optimal performance in Starter

and Finisher Broilers. Soaked cocoyam tuber meal contained 8.05% moisture, 9 1.95% dry matter,

10.08% ash, 2.01% Crude Protein, 1.60% ether extract, 3.80% Crude fibre, 74.46% NFE and

3158.92KcalIkg DM metabolizable Energy. In the broiler starter experiment, soaked cocoyam

tuber meal was used to replace yellow maize at levels of 15%, 20%, 25% and 30% respectively in

the control diet. In the finisher trial, the replacement were 15%, 20%, 25% and 30% soaked

cocoyam tuber meal. Each starter diet was fed to a group of 30 broiler chicks for 4 weeks while

the finisher diets were fed to groups of 30 broilers for another 4 weeks, using completely

randomized design. Each treatment was further grouped into 3 replicates of 10 birds each. The

broilers were kept in deep litter and given feed and water ad libitum. Parameters measured

include: initial body weight, final body weight, feed intake, feed conversion ratio, cost of

production and carcass characteristics. In the starter trial, the group on 30% soaked cocoyam tuber

meal (30%SCYM) compared favorably with the control group (p<O.05) from other groups. It

appeared that the starter broilers could tolerate high levels of soaked cocoyam tuber meal in their

diets. In the finisher trial, the finisher broilers on the control diet, diet 5 (30%SCYM), and diet 3

(20%SCYM) recorded similar feed intake which were significantly different (p<O.05) from those

on the other diets. In terms of body weight gain, the finisher broilers on 20% soaked cocoyam

tuber meal recorded significantly (p<O.05) high body weight than those on other diets while the

finisher broilers on 25% soaked cocoyam tuber meal recorded the poorest body weight gain. It

appeared that the finisher broilers could not tolerate high levels of soaked cocoyam tuber meal in

their diets. Cost of production (cost of feed X feed conversion ratio) was lowest for diet 5

(30%SCYM) N248.15 as against N281.86 for control diet in the starter feeding trial, while the

cost of production was lowest for diet 5 (30%SCYM) N375 versus N422.99 for control diet in the

finisher feeding trial. The internal organs expressed as percent of the live weight were not affected

by the treatments. The finisher broilers on diet 3 recorded the highest dressing out percentage of

73.90. The result of the trials have shown that soaked cocoyam tuber meal can be used to replace

maize at economical levels in the diets of broilers without affecting the weight gain, feed intake

and feed conversion ratios as indicated in this study.