Nutrient Digestibility and Blood Composition of Broiler Chickens Fed Diets Containing Biodegraded Sweet Orange (Citrus sinensis) Fruit Peel

Aims: To determine the nutrient digestibility and blood composition of broiler chickens fed biodegraded sweet orange fruit peel-based diets. Study Design: Completely randomized design. Place and Duration of Study: Livestock Research Farm, Federal University of Agriculture Makurdi, Nigeria; fifty-six days Methodology: Sweet orange peels and cattle rumen content were collected. Rumen content was mixed with water at a ratio 1 kg: 1 litre and sieved to get rumen filtrate (RF). RF was mixed with Sweet orange peels at a ratio of 1 litre: 2.5 kg and fermented for 48 hours, sun-dried, milled, and added to broiler diets at different levels: 0% (T1), 5% (T2), 10% (T3), 15% (T4), and 20% (T5). A total of 150 day-old chicks, randomly assigned to five dietary treatments and three replicates per treatment were raised in a 56-day feeding trial. Three chickens of average live body weight similar to the treatment group average were selected and used to determine nutrient digestibility and blood composition. Results: The results showed that the coefficient of digestibility of dry matter, crude protein, crude fibre, ether extract and nitrogen-free-extract did not differ significantly (P > .05) among the treatment groups. Haematological indices; haemoglobin, red blood cell (RBC), packed cell volume, mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH), did not differ significantly (P > .05) across the dietary groups, while white blood cell (WBC) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) varied significantly (P < .05). Serum indices; total protein (TP), globulin, glucose, cholesterol, and alkaline phosphatase were significantly affected (P < .05) by the experimental diets, while albumin, aspartate transaminase and alanine transaminase did not differ significantly (P < .05) across the dietary groups. Conclusion: Biodegraded sweet orange peel-based diets can replace maize grains up to 20% without affecting nutrient digestibility or having any adverse effect on blood constituents of broiler chickens.