GROWTH PERFORMANCE TRAITS OF BROILERS EXPOSED TO CRUDE OIL FLAME EMISSIONS

TI1is study was a simulation of what obtains in the petroleum producing areas, where gas flar ing and oil spill pollution effects are felt. The experimental design was a 2-factor factorial In a' completely randomized design (CRD), with factor A as distances from the crude petroleum flame and factor B. as the age of the birds In weeks. One hundred and eighty (1BO) Anak day-old broiler chicks were used In the study with 4 treatments of 45 birds per treatrrient, replicated thrice at 15 birds per replicate. A control was located in another poultry house outside the flame area. The crude oil was ignited in a metal burner, 22.86cm high with a diameter of 17 .Bern and a thickness of 1.17cm designed for· the purpose. Crude oil burning WilS from Garn to topm dillly throughout the experimental period. Ambient temperature and relative humidity readings were nxordcd tl11 lcc · dally (morning, afternoon and evening). The birds were fed ad llblturn on a proprietary start er mash for 5 weeks, and a broiler finisher mash from for 3 weeks. Water was provided adllbltum . . Routine inoculations ;ind other medications were administered as and when due. The rnlcrocllmatological experh; iental environment showed a generally lower llght lnten~lty, lower ·ambient temperature and high relaijve humidity. The values obtained in this study at an averaging time of 60 minutes (at 10 minutes interv 0.05) in the effe<..t of the treatments on the birds. Age of birds had highly significant (p<0.01) Influence on all the performance traits measured, Including weekly bcdy weights, average dally gains, weekly feed consumption, weekly feed converslon (feed/gain) and weekly mortality. TI1e findings suggest that further studies need to be conducted on whether there are physiological adjustments to the emissions by the birds that were not ob~.ervcd In the performance trait analysis.