EFFECT OF WED FEED ON COCKEREL CHICKEN PERFORMANCE

Abstract

An experiment was conducted with 66 day-old Hyperco cockerels. Cassava (Manihot esculenta) peels of mixed varieties were used for this study which lasted for 8 weeks. The peels were harvested at between 9-10 months of age from the cassava plantation of the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (I.A.R. &T), Moor Plantation, Ibadan. The chicks were randomly allotted to the two dietary treatments A (dry mash) and B (wet, moist mash). Each treatment consisted of 3 replicates. The mean daily feed intake, water consumption, body weight gain and feed conversion efficiency values showed significant differences (P<0.05) between treatments. Considering the ease in producing wet ( moist ) feeds, their use in cockerel nutrition offers tremendous commercial benefits if suitable equipment are developed for mixing and delivering them to the birds. Keywords: Dry mash, Wet mash, Growth Performance, Cockerel chicks.