Performance and internal organ characteristics of finisher broilers fed the wild yam ( Anchomanes difformis ) tuber

Abstract

A 28-day feeding trial was carried out to evaluate the effect of replacing maize as a major source of energy with wild yam (Anchomanes difformis) meal (WYM) in the diets of finisher broiler. One hundred and eighty (180) finisher broilers were fed on five experimental diets formulated such that the maize in diet 1 (control) was replaced with 10% and 20% of raw yam (RWYM) in diets 2 and 3 respectively, while diets 4 and 5 contained 10 and 20% cooked wild yam (CWYM) respectively. Cooking improved the utilization value of wild yam, since there were significant differences (p 0.05) between the performances of birds fed on cooked wild yam meal and the maize-based (control) diets. The result showed that cooking may have reduced or eliminated the observed toxicants (tannins and trypsin inhibitors) present in wild yam meal. Feed intake and body weight gains of the birds decreased with increasing levels of wild yam inclusions. The feed utilization efficiency of the birds was not significantly affected (p>0.05) by the dietary levels of wild yam meal. The internal organs expressed as a percentage of the body weight were not affected (p>0.05) by the treatments. The result of this trial suggests that cooked wild yam meal can substitute for maize in broiler finisher rations up to 20% dietary level without deleterious effect on performance. Keywords: Wild yam meal, broiler, chicken, internal organs weight, maize, feed