Growth performance and nutrient digestibility of pullet chicks fed graded levels of Water Hyacinth {Eichhornia crassipes (Martius)Solms-Laubach} meal diets at the starter phase (0-8 weeks)

Abstract

A total of 300 day-old Isa Brown pullet chicks were fed diets containing graded levels of water hyacinth meal (WHM) at 0, 5, 10 and 15 % dietary inclusion levels (to form Diet 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively) for 8 weeks. Each treatment was divided into three replicates and each replicate was made up of 25 birds. At the end of the 7th week, some of the birds were randomly selected and moved to specially-constructed metabolism cages for a digestibility trial that lasted for one week; made up of four days adjustment period and three days faecal collection period. There were no significant (p>0.05) differences in initial body weight, final body weight, total body weight gain, weekly feed intake, feed conversion ratio, energy efficiency and mortality among the various dietary treatments. There were no significant (p>0.05) differences in digestibility of dry matter and ash; but digestibility of crude protein, crude fibre, nitrogen free extract (NFE) as well as total digestible nutrient (TDN) were significantly (p<0.05) different among the dietary treatments. Hence, for optimum growth performance and nutrient utilization, WHM can be included up to 10 % in the diets of pullet chicks (replacing 50 % of wheat offal), without the addition of any exogenous enzymes. Hence, a noxious weed that is a nuisance to everyone can now serve as a valuable feed resource for pullet chicks.