Effect of replacing soybean meal with different levels of processed droppings meal on carcass and meat quality of spent layers

This study investigated the effect of feeding diets containing layers droppings meal in replacement of soybean meal on carcass and meat quality of spent Silver Brown layers. A total of 105 chickswere purchased from avian specialist hatchery at Ibadan, Oyo state and reared on the Teaching and Research Farm of Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ayetoro Campus. They were fed Animal Care Konsult® concentrate up to point of lay and were allotted to 5 treatments and placed on basal diet T0=0% dried layers dropping meal (DLDM) the test diets T1=25% DLDM, T2=50% DLDM, T3=75% DLDM and T4=100% DLDM inclusion with 3 replicates of 7 birds per replicate. At the end of 18 months lay, 15 birds from each treatment were randomly selected and slaughtered. Carcass and meat characteristics were determined in a completely randomized design experiment and data analysed at p=0.05. Birds fed T1 furnished higher dressing percentage (72%), cut-up parts, cooking yield (90.41%), crude protein (21.6%) andorganoleptic properties, while cooking and drip losses as well as thermal and cold shortenings were lower compared to other treatments. It was concluded that diet T1 (25% DLDM) inclusion was better and was recommended.