Growth performance of starter broiler chickens fed processed African yam bean meal as protein source in place of soyabean meal

Protein source like soyabean meal is expensive and constitutes about 15-30% of poultry and pig diets. Thus, the study was carried out to determine the growth performance of starter broiler chickens fed processed African yam bean meal as protein source in place of soyabean meal in their diets. The processed African yam bean meal (AYBM) was used to replace soyabean meal at various levels to determine the best level that would give optimal performance in starter broilers. The African yam bean seeds were procured at Ndioro market in Abia state and were sorted to remove stones and dirt by sieving. The seeds were soaked in water for 24 hours in large vats and then, the water was removed and the seeds were air dried for 3 days. The seeds were then toasted for 35 minutes in a frying pan, milled using hammer mill to obtain processed African yam bean meal, and then stored in bags until used. The proximate composition of processed African yam bean meal showed that it contained 8.29% moisture, 91.71% dry matter, 3.40% ash, 21.12% crude protein, 5.0% ether extract, 5.73% crude fibre and 56.46% nitrogen free extract. In the starter feeding trial, the processed African yam bean was used to replace soyabean meal at levels of 0, 10, 15, 20 and 25% respectively in the control diet. Each starter diet was fed to a group of 30 broiler chicks for 4 weeks using completely randomized design. Each treatment was divided into 3 replicates of 10 broiler chicks each. The broiler chicks were kept in pens in deep litter and given feed and water ad libitum. Parameters measured include; initial body weight, final body weight, body weight gain, feed intake, feed conversion ratio and cost of production. In the starter broiler feeding trial, the group on 10% processed AYBM compared favourably with the control (P>0.05) in terms of feed intake, feed conversion ratio and body weight gain. Cost of production per kg (was lowest for diet 2 (N463.38) against N471.63 for those on control diet. The result of the trial has shown that processed African Yam bean meal can be used to replace soyabean meal in the diet at 10% for optimum performance of starter broilers without affecting the body weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion ratio