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Nutrient digestibility and blood profile of broiler chickens fed fermented sweet orange peel-based diets

¹Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Dept. of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Sweden
²The National University of Lesotho, Roma, Lesotho, Dept. of Animal Science, Lesotho
³Federal University of Agriculture, Dept. of Animal Nutrition, Nigeria

Abstract

The research aimed to determine the nutrient digestibility and blood profile of broiler chickens fed biodegraded sweet orange peel-based diets in Nigeria. The sweet orange peels were obtained from retail sellers while fresh rumen content was procured from a government abattoir. Rumen content was mixed with water in the ratio of 1 kg : 1 litre, and the resultant mixture was sieved to obtain rumen filtrate (RF). The rumen content was mixed with sweet orange peels at the ratio of 1 litre : 2.5 kg respectively. The mixture was then fermented for 48 hours, sun-dried, milled, and incorporated into the broiler diets at starter and finisher phases as a replacement for maize at levels of 0% (T1), 5% (T2), 10% (T3), 15% (T4) and 20% (T5). The experiment involved a fifty-six-day feeding trial, where a hundred and fifty-day-old chickens were randomly assigned to five dietary treatments, and each was replicated three times in a completely randomised design. The results showed that the coefficient of digestibility of dry matter, crude protein, crude fibre, ether extract and nitrogen-free-extract did not differ significantly (p>0.05) among the treatment groups, while, as retention differed significantly (p<0.05) across the treatment groups haematological indices; haemoglobin, red blood cell (RBC), packed cell volume, mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH), did not differ significantly (p>0.05) across the dietary groups, white blood cell (WBC) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) varied significantly (p<0.05), serum indices; total protein (TP), globulin, glucose, cholesterol, and alkaline phosphatase, were significantly affected (p<0.05) by the experimental diets, while albumin, aspartate transaminase, and alanine transaminase did not differ significantly (p<0.05) across the dietary groups. Sweet orange peel-based diets can replace maize up to 20% without affecting nutrient digestibility or having any deleterious effect on the blood parameters of broiler chickens.

Keywords: Blood profile, broiler chickens, fermentation, nutrient digestibility, rumen filtrate

Contact Address: Oluwabiyi Oluremi, The National University of Lesotho, Roma, Lesotho, Dept. of Animal Science, Roma, 180 Maseru, Lesotho, e-mail: oiaoluremiyahoo.com