Inclusion levels of sweet potato root meal in the diet of broilers I. Effect on performance, organ weights, and carcass quality

Abstract

The amount of corn available for animal and poultry feed has been unpredictable in recent years due to the increased use of corn for ethanol production. As a consequence, there has been an increase in the price of feed, chicken, and chicken products. Researchers are exploring alternative feed sources to substitute for corn in poultry ration. This study evaluated the performance and carcass quality of broilers fed diets containing sweet potato root meal (SPRM). After a complete nutrient analysis of the SPRM, diets were formulated where 0, 10, 20, and 30% of corn was substituted with SPRM. The study utilized 360 1-d-old Cornish X Rock male broiler chickens randomly assigned to one of 4 treatments; 0%, 10%, 20%, and 30% SPRM. Body weights and feed intake (FI) were monitored weekly for 7 wk. Birds were slaughtered on d 50 and FI, BW gain, ADG, ADFI, abdominal fat, dressing percentage, and organ weights measured. White (breast) and dark (leg and thigh) meat were evaluated for nutrient content (protein, moisture, fat, and ash). Results showed birds fed 20% SPRM had lower (P < 0.03) final BW, BW gain and ADG than those fed the 30% SPRM diet. There were no differences in FI and ADFI among treatments. Feed conversion ratio was lowest (P < 0.02) in birds fed 10, 20, and 30% SPRM than the control. There were no differences in dressing percentage among treatments. Abdominal fat was highest (P < 0.05) in birds fed 30% SPRM. Organ weights were similar across treatments except for gizzard which weighed highest (P < 0.05) in the control. For white meat; moisture, protein, fat, and ash were similar across treatments. For dark meat, moisture (P < 0.004) and fat (P < 0.03) were highest in the control, while protein and ash were similar among treatments. Birds fed the SPRM diets compared well with those fed the control for both performance and nutrient content of meat.

Evaluation of the effects of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam) in broiler diets

“…Feed conversion ratios (FCR) of birds fed with all these sweet potato diets had better FCRs than birds fed with a maize diet indicating that sweet potato roots can be fed to broilers to improve profit margins for farmers (Beckford & Bartlett, 2015). These results were similar to those reported by Glatz (2013).…”

“…Sweet potato has been used in the diets of fish, pigs and poultry (Pandi, 2006) to replace grain in developing countries. Recent work by Beckford and Bartlett (2015) with Cornish x Rock broiler chickens used discarded sweet potato roots at inclusion rates of 100,200 and 300 g/kg in the starter, grower and finisher feeds, respectively, and showed no significant differences in the total feed intake and final live weights of these birds. Feed conversion ratios (FCR) of birds fed with all these sweet potato diets had better FCRs than birds fed with a maize diet indicating that sweet potato roots can be fed to broilers to improve profit margins for farmers (Beckford & Bartlett, 2015).…”

Use of potato as carbohydrate source in poultry ration

“…Ideally, the ingredient should be able to substitute corn totally or partially and not have any negative impact on the efficiency and the cost of poultry production [3,20]. Many alternative ingredients, such as water yam [5], cassava root meal [23,24], pearl millet [1], sweet potato [9,12,18], etc. have been investigated and reported.…”

Managing Dietary Energy Intake by Broiler Chickens to Reduce Production Costs and Improve Product Quality

“…However, these anti-nutrients are reduced or eliminated through adequate processing methods. Examples of these crops include cassava, cocoyam and potato [53][54][55][56].…”