Economic Assessment of Various Levels of Protein and Energy in Pigeon Squabs Diet

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of nine diets through the application of 3×3 randomized design which included three levels of energy (2600, 2800 and 3000 Kcal/kg) with 3 supplemental protein levels (14, 16 and 18%) on growth performance, blood parameters, carcass yields and economic efficiency of Baladi pigeon squabs from 28 days old until 6 months of age (age of sexual maturity). A total of 135 pairs of squabs were randomly and independently allocated to the nine dietary treatments, each containing 15 pairs (3 replicate of 5 pairs). The diets were formulated in mash form fortified with vitamin and mineral premix. Moreover, feed and water were provided for ad-libitum consumption. The results showed that, squabs fed higher energy and crude protein diets (3000 ME+16% CP) had higher live body weight with a coincident significant decrease of the feed intake (P<0.0001). In addition, dressing (%), breast and thigh meat yield (%) increased significantly with increasing levels of both energy and protein, where they hit the peak values in squabs fed on 3000 ME+16% CP diet. Furthermore, increasing energy levels did not affect serum proteins (albumin and globulin), urea and uric acid. However, it had a significant positive effect on serum lipids (cholesterol, triglyceride, high density lipoprotein and low density lipoprotein). In terms of economic analysis, 3000 ME+16% CP diet revealed the lowest cost per Kg live weight of birds 81.87 L.E per pair, along with the highest economic return 110.3 L.E per pair and net profit 10.43 L.E per pair. In conclusion, squabs can efficiently utilize diet containing high energy (3000 Kcal/kg) and crude protein (16%) diets, consequently, it can be used to optimize their growth performance and maintain the maximum economic return.