Effects of inclusion of different levels of watermelon bug meal in broiler rations on feed intake, body weight changes and feed conversion ratio in North Kordofan, Sudan

Abstract

This study wasconducted in El-Obeid, North Kordofan State, Sudan with the objective of evaluatingthe effects of inclusion of different levels of watermelon bug meal (WMBM) as asubstitute for sorghum grains in rations on broiler chick’s performance. Oneday old unsexed 200 broiler chicks with an average weight of 40g /bird wereused in an experiment designed as completely randomized design (CRD) with fivetreatments and four replicates. At the beginning of the experiment the chickswere fed a pre-starter ration for one week and then offered five rationsprepared using (WMBM) at 0, 15, 30, 45 and 60 percent. The rations were offeredtwice a day. Chicks were weighed weekly during the experimental period. Thecollected data were analyzed using analysis of variance. The results indicatedthat feed intake of broiler chicks increased significantly (P <0.05) withinclusion of WMBM. The chicks consumed 67, 89, 94, 97 and 97 g/day/bird whenthe WMBM constituted 0, 15, 30, 45 and 60 percent in the rations respectively.The final body weight followed the same trend where the groups weighed 1332.5,2130, 2100.6, 1922.5 and 1772.3 g for the birds that consumed rations of 0, 15,30, 45 and 60 percent (WMBM) respectively. Weight gains and feed conversionratio were also significantly (P <0.05) improved. It was concluded that WMBMcould replace sorghum grains as source of energy in broiler rations and it wasrecommended that more studies be carried out to investigate effects ofinclusion of the WMBM on weight of cuts and meat quality.