RESPONSE OF CHICKEN GENOTYPES TO DIETARY LEVELS OF Moringa oleifera (Lamarck) SEED MEAL
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Date
2018-06
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UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN
Abstract
Moringa oleifera (Lamarck)seed is a potential novel feedstuff that can be incorporated into poultry nutrition in Nigeria.Moringa oleiferais a potential cheaper alternative than the current conventional feedstuff.However, the performance response may vary between different chicken genotypes.The objectives of this study are to evaluate: (i) effects of dietary inclusion of Moringa oleifera Seed Meal (MOSM) on performance and morphometric body parameters of local and exotic chickens; (ii) effects of dietary inclusion of MOSM on reproductive characteristics of local and exotic chickens; and (iii) correlation and predictive models for growth and reproductive parameters in local and exotic chickens fed MOSM.
Two experiments were conducted. Four experimental diets containing 0, 5, 10 and 15 % MOSM were used.Experiment 1 studied the comparative effects of dietary inclusion of MOSM on the performance and morphometric body parameters of local and exotic chickens. Experiment 2 assessed the comparative influence of dietary MOSM on the spermiogramic and egg characteristics of Yoruba Ecotype Nigerian Local Chickens (YENLC) and Isa Brown chickens. Data obtained were subjected to analysis of variance, correlation, forward-stepwise regression and principal component analysis.
The findings of this study were that;
(i) chickens fed 5% MOSM had the best feed conversion ratio (3.24) and morphometric body parameters (p<0.05). Haematology, serum electrolytes and enzymes increased significantly (p<0.05) with increasing level of MOSM. Serum total cholesterol significantly decreased (p<0.05) from the control to 10% MOSM inclusion;
(ii) dietary inclusion of MOSM affected the reproductive parameters in YENLC and Isa Brown chickens. Egg length, egg width, yolk weight and yolk height decreased significantly (p<0.05) with increasing levels of MOSM;
(iii) the association between morphometric parameters and body weights decreased significantly(p<0.05) with increasing levels of MOSM (r decreased from 0.72 to 0.52). Late body weight could be predicted for Marshall up to week 7 using body morphometrics (R2=81.70%);
(iv) diets affected the sperm parameters of the cocks. Body weights predicted semen volume, testes weight, epididymis weight and spermatozoa reserves (R2=85.30%). There were significant (p<0.01) and high positive correlations among egg length, egg width, shell weight, albumen height, albumen weight, yolk height and yolk weight of YENLC (r≥0.822). However, egg length, egg width, shell weight, albumen height, albumen weight, yolk height and yolk weight predicted the egg weight of Isa brown and YENLC with accuracy of 83.90% and 85% respectively; and
(v) the most significant latent determinant of variation in body weight and linear body traits discovered (principal component 1), explained the MOSM effect,and largely reflected the contribution of body weight at weeks 4 and 5 to overall variation (variance explained = 67.41%).
This study concluded that 5% dietary inclusion of MOSM would improve growth performance in Marshall, while 5% level of inclusion of MOSM would improve the reproductive performance of Isa Brown chickens. 10% MOSM dietary inclusion would contribute to optimum growth and reproductive performance in YENLC. The study recommended that up to 5% MOSM can be included in chickens’ diet irrespective of the genotype for optimum performance.
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Keywords
CHICKEN, CHICKEN GENOTYPES, DIETARY LEVELS, Moringa oleifera, SEED MEAL, Moringa oleifera Seed Meal (MOSM), Yoruba Ecotype Nigerian Local Chickens (YENLC)