Effect of Mulberry Foliage (Morus alba) Meal on Growth Performance and Edible Portions in Hybrid Chickens

This study was conducted to determine the effect of mulberry foliage (Morus alba) meal on growth performance and edible portions in hybrid chicken (camperos). A total of 400 birds of 1-day-old were used for 70 days according to a completely randomized design with four treatments, 10 replicates/treatment and 10 birds/replicate. The dietary treatments consisted in diets with inclusion levels of 0, 10, 20 and 30% of mulberry foliage meal. No significant differences (p>0.05) were found between treatments for the viability and the sensory quality; however, the inclusion of this feed depressed (p<0.05) the body weight at 42 and 70 days, feed intake, feed conversion ratio, weight and yield of the carcass, breast and thigh plus leg compared with the control treatment. Abdominal fat weight and yield decreased (p<0.05) in correspondence the level of inclusion of mulberry foliage meal in diets. The results suggest experiments with 10% lower levels of foliage mulberry meal in diets of hybrid chicken camperos for obtain a good growth performance and edible portions.