EFFECT OF THE REPLACEMENT OF MAIZE WITH WHEAT OFFAL IN BROILER FINISHER DIETS ON GROWTH PERFORMANCE AND FEED COST

An experiment was carried out to assess the effect of replacing maize with wheat offal in broiler finisher diets on bird performance and feed cost. Six rations were formulated using 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 percent wheat offal to replace maize in the rations. The formulated rations were fed to one hundred and fifty six commercial broiler finisher birds in a completely randomized experimental design. All the rations were made isocaloric and isonitrogenous with the inclusion of varying levels of palm oil. The results indicated that there were no significant differences (P > 0.05) in body weight, body weight gain, feed intake and efficiency of feed utilization and carcass characteristics amongst the treatment means. However, wheat offal replaced maize for up to 25 percent without any adverse effect on performance. More so, at 25 percent inclusion to replace maize, cost of feed per kilogram was reduced by about 15.91 percent. Such feed cost reduction could engender overall production cost reduction in broiler production especially at the finisher stage.