Effect of different litter materials on growth performance and carcass characteristics of broiler chicken

Abstract

The experiment was conducted to assess the effect of two different types of litter materials (saw dust and rice husk) on growth performance and carcass characteristics of broiler chicken. A total of 150 nos. of day-old Ross broiler chicks were randomly selected and divided equally into five groups, 3 replications were carried out for each group taking 10 birds in each replicate. In this study, Group-I was provided with 100% saw dust, Group-II -100% rice husk, Group-III -75% sawdust +25% rice husk, Group-IV -50% saw dust + 50% rice husk and Group-V 25% saw dust + 75% rice husk. During the experimental period, standard feeding and uniform management practices were applied. Growth performance parameters viz. live body weight (LBW), cumulative body weight gain (CBWG), cumulative feed intake (CFI), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were measured at weekly intervals up to 6 weeks of age. After 6 weeks of the study, six birds were randomly selected from each replicate group, and slaughtered and dressed for evaluation of carcass characteristics of broiler chicken. The results showed that up to 2 weeks of age, there was no significant difference in LBW, CBWG, CFI and FCR among the groups; but during growing to finishing stages (from 3 weeks to 6 weeks) the litter materials had played significant role, and comparatively better performance was noticed in birds those were raised on saw dust. Therefore, saw dust may be used as a litter material for better growth performance in broiler chicken.