Performance, organ relative weight, serum and haematology parameters in broiler finisher fed biodegraded brewers dried grain

Abstract: Four isonitrogeneous diet made up of Brewer’s dried grain with a control diet was distributed at the rate of 9 birds per replicate and three replicates per diet in a completely randomized design experiment. Fungal biodegradation of brewers dried grain (BDG) resulted in improved nutrient composition of the by-product. The effects of feeding biodegraded BDG on relative organ weight, serum and heamatological parameters and economy of broiler finisher were investigated. Although no significant difference was observed in the feed intake of broiler finisher fed the graded levels tested but significant difference (P< 0.05) was observed in the rate of weight gain (g/day). Feed cost per kilogram was lowest on diet 4 but feed cost per weight gain (N/g) gave a value of 10.60 and 7.32 on diet 4 and 2 respectively. Biodegraded BDG at 20% inclusion level gave the highest weight gain 1213.73 over 28 days and the lowest weight gain of 668.51g on diet 4. Weight of gizzard and liver significantly increased with inclusion of BDG a weight range of 2.50 to 3.30 % and 1.59-2.59 % respectively of the total weight. The serum urea increased significantly across the graded levels tested (24.50-42.50g/dl), but the serum globulin content on the other hand decreased with values range between 3.05-3.40g/dl. The utilization of biodegraded BDG beyond 30 % level in broiler finisher is not encouraging but the best result was obtained at 20 % level of biodegraded BDG. Key words: Biodegraded BDG, feed ingredients, livestock production, broiler feedin