EFFECT OF REPLACEMENT OF WHEAT BY SORGHUM ON THE PRODUCTION PERFORMANCE OF BROILER

Abstract

An experiment was conducted with 200 day-old Cobb-500 straight-run broiler chicks were fed different dietary diets where 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of sorghum were replaced in wheat based diets. The feeding trial was conducted for a period of 35 days. All birds were divided into 5 groups and assigned to dietary treatments; T1=Control diet (100% dietary wheat); T2=75% dietary wheat was replaced by 25% dietary sorghum; T3=50% dietary wheat was replaced by 50% dietary sorghum; T4=25% dietary wheat was replaced by 75% dietary sorghum; T5=100% dietary sorghum. Body weight performances were significantly highest (P<0.05) in group T4 (75% Sorghum based diet) and lowest in group T5 (100% Sorghum). Feed consumptions rate were significantly highest (P<0.01) in group T2 (25% Sorghum based diet) and lowest in group T5 (100% Sorghum). Feed conversion ratio was highest in group T5 (100% Sorghum) and lowest in group T4 (% 75 Sorghum). Survivability percentage of birds varied as 97.72 to 100% among treatments during 7-35 days and showed non-significant (P>0.05). Feed cost per live broiler at different levels of sorghum in wheat based diet varied from Tk. 4.51 to 97.51 during 7-35 days. Feed cost gradually increases with the advancement of ages Feed costs among different dietary group at all stages were statistically different. Feed cost per live bird was highest in group T2 where as lowest in group in T4 at 35 days. Among meat yield characteristic dressing percentages, weight of carcass, drum stick, breast, thigh, wing, abdominal fat, gizzard, heart and liver did not differ significantly (P>0.05) among diets. It was concluded that sorghum can be replaced up to 75 percent of wheat which was more beneficial and cost effectiveness.