ABSTRACT
Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of dietary inclusion level (50% or 100%), form (whole or ground), and enzyme supplementation (with or without) of pearl millet at the expense of maize on the performance of Japanese quails. In the first experiment (growing phase), 378 two weeks old unsexed Japanese quails were used in a 2 x 2 x 2 factorial arrangement in a completely randomized design with eight treatments and a control all replicated thrice with 14 quails per replicate in a four-week feeding trial. Feed intake and weight gain were measured weekly. Three quails per treatment were used for carcass evaluation. The second experiment (laying phase) evaluated the effect of pearl millet inclusion (50% or 100%), pearl millet form (whole or ground), and enzyme supplementation of pearl millet diets (with or without) as replacement for maize on the laying performance, egg quality parameters and nutrient‟s digestibility of laying Japanese quails using 162 seven weeks old female Japanese quails in the same arrangement as in the first experiment with 6 quails per replicate. Egg production, feed intake and body weight were measured and recorded. Egg quality analysis was also carried out. At the end, digestibility study was conducted. In experiment 1, weight gain, age at first lay, weight at first lay and weight of first egg were similar (P>0.05) among the treatments. Feed intake, feed conversion ratio, total feed cost and feed cost/kg gain were significantly affected (P<0.05) by pearl millet inclusion with the control group doing better than either of the pearl millet inclusion levels of 50% or 100%. Dressing percentage, gizzard weight and liver weight were not affected by dietary inclusion level, form or enzyme supplementation of pearl millet diets. Pearl millet inclusion regardless of form or enzyme supplementation led to increased intestinal weight relative to the control. Quails fed pearl millet without enzyme had heavier proventriculus than those fed maize (control). In experiment 2, inclusion level, form (whole or ground) and enzyme supplementation in pearl millet based diets increased feed intake and feed cost/dozen eggs of quails as compared to the control. Feeding pearl millet increased the egg weight, albumen percentage and shell thickness but decreased the egg yolk percentage of laying Japanese quails. Feeding whole pearl millet increased the digestibility of crude protein, ether extract and ash by laying Japanese quails. Pearl millet inclusion increased crude protein digestibility. Enzyme supplementation in pearl millet based diets did not improve their nutrient‟s digestibility. The results of this study showed that where the price of pearl millet is less than that of maize, whole pearl
xi
millet can conveniently replace maize in the diet of Japanese quails without any adverse effects.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page ———————————————————————————————- i
Declaration ———————————————————————————————ii
Certification —————————————————————————————— iii
Acknowledgement ———————————————————————————– iv
Table of Contents ————————————————————————————- v
List of Tables ————————————————————————————— viii
Abstract ———————————————————————————————– x
CHAPTER ONE ————————————————————————————- 1
1.0 INTRODUCTION —————————————————————————— 1
1.1 Justification ————————————————————————————— 2
1.2 Objectives —————————————————————————————- 4
1.3 Hypotheses ————————————————————————————— 4
CHAPTER TWO ———————————————————————————— 6
2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW ——————————————————————— 6
2.1 Whole Grains Feeding in Poultry Nutrition ———————————————– 6
2.2 Cereals Fed as Whole Grains to Poultry ————————————————— 7
2.3 Whole Grains Feeding: Implications on the Digestion and
Performance of Poultry ———————————————————————– 9
2.4 Implications of Feeding Whole Grains to Gastrointestinal Tract
Morphology and Physiology and Health of Poultry ———————————— 11
2.5 Cost Implications of Feeding Whole Grains to Poultry ——————————- 13
2.6 Exogenous Enzymes in Poultry Nutrition ———————————————— 14
2.7 Whole Grain Feeding and Exogenous Enzyme Efficiency —————————- 17
2.8 Pearl Millet in Poultry Nutrition ———————————————————– 18
CHAPTER THREE ——————————————————————————- 20
3.0 MATERIALS AND METHODS ———————————————————– 20
3.1 Experimental Site —————————————————————————– 20
3.2 Experiments ———————————————————————————— 20
vi
3.3.1 Experiment 1: Influence of pearl millet inclusion level, form and enzyme supplementation on performance and carcass characteristics of Growing Japanese quails ——————————————— 20
3.3.2 Experiment 2: Influence of pearl millet inclusion level, form and enzyme supplementation on performance and nutrients digestibility of laying Japanese quails ————————————— 23
3.3 Statistical Analysis —————————————————————————- 27
CHAPTER FOUR ——————————————————————————– 30
4.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ———————————————————— 30
4.1 Proximate Composition of the Experimental Diets ———————————— 30
4.2.1 Effect of pearl millet inclusion level on the performance of growing Japanese quails (2-6 weeks) ————————————————————– 35
4.2.2 Effect of pearl millet form on the performance of growing Japanese quails (2-6 weeks) ————————————————————– 38
4.2.3 Effect of enzyme supplementation of pearl millet based diets on the performance of growing Japanese quails (2-6 weeks) ——————————– 39
4.2.4 Effect of the interaction between pearl millet inclusion level, pearl millet form and enzyme supplementation of pearl millet diets on the performance of growing Japanese quails (2-6 weeks) ———————————————— 42
4.2.5 Effect of pearl millet inclusion level on the carcass characteristics of growing Japanese quails (2-6 weeks) ———————————————— 43
4.2.6 Effect of pearl millet form on the carcass characteristics of growing Japanese quails (2-6 weeks) ————————————————————– 45
4.2.7 Effect of enzyme supplementation of pearl millet based diets on the carcass characteristics of growing Japanese quails (2-6 weeks) —————————— 45
4. 2.8 Effect of pearl millet inclusion level on the performance of laying Japanese quails (7-20 weeks) —————————————————- 49
4.2.9 Effect of pearl millet form on the performance of laying Japanese quails ——— 52
4.2.10 Effect of enzyme supplementation of pearl millet based diets on the performance of laying Japanese quails (7-20 weeks) ———————————- 55
4. 2.11 Effect of the interaction between pearl millet inclusion level, pearl millet form and enzyme supplementation on the performance of laying Japanese quails (7-20 weeks) ————————————————- 58
vii
4. 2.12 Effect of pearl millet inclusion level on the external and internal egg quality characteristics of laying Japanese quails (7-20 weeks) —————– 58
4. 2.13 Effect of millet form on the external and internal egg quality characteristics of laying Japanese quails (7-20 weeks) ————————————————- 61
4. 2.14 Effect of enzyme supplementation of pearl millet based diets on the external and internal egg quality characteristics of laying Japanese quails (7-20 weeks) —————————————————– 66
4. 2.15 Effect of pearl millet inclusion level on the nutrient digestibility of laying Japanese quails (7-20 weeks) ————————————————- 68
4. 2.16 Effect of pearl millet form on the nutrient digestibility of laying Japanese quails (7-20 weeks) —————————————————– 70
4. 2.17 Effect of enzyme supplementation of pearl millet diets on the nutrient digestibility of laying Japanese quails (7-20 weeks) ———————————- 72
CHAPTER FIVE ———————————————————————————- 72
5.0 SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ——————— 72
5.1 Summary —————————————————————————————- 72
5.2 Conclusions ————————————————————————————- 74
5.3 Recommendations —————————————————————————– 74
REFERENCES ————————————————————————————- 75
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Feed is the most expensive portion (70-80%) of the cost of raising poultry and this expense is magnified by the fact that most farmers feed ground mash or pelleted diet (Schivera, 2003). In an attempt to reduce this cost, feeding whole grains to poultry is now becoming a common management practice used frequently in Europe, Australia, and Canada (Bennett et al., 2002). This practice reduces feed costs and wastage due to handling, processing, transportation and storage (Bennett et al., 2002; Schivera, 2003; Hidalgo et al., 2004; Garcia and Dale, 2006; Biggs and Parsons, 2009; Svihus, 2010). Apart from saving costs, many benefits attributed to feeding whole grains include increased gizzard activity (Bennett et al.,2002; Engberg et al., 2004; Svihus and Hetland, 2004; Garcia and Dale, 2006; Biggs and Parsons, 2009; Svihus, 2010), increased pancreatic enzyme secretion (Svihus and Hetland, 2004; Svihus, 2010), increased efficiency of exogenous enzymes (Svihus, 2010), increased starch and amino acid digestibility (Engberg et al., 2004; Garcia and Dale, 2006; Biggs and Parysons, 2009; Svihus, 2010), greater apparent metabolizable energy (Biggs and Parsons, 2009), improvement in feed conversion ratio (Bennett et al.,2002; Engberg et al., 2004; Garcia and Dale, 2006) and an indirect effect on reducing many enteric diseases and skeletal problems in poultry (Svihus, 2001; Bennett et al.,2002; Engberg et al., 2004; Svihus and Hetland, 2004; Biggs and Parsons, 2009).
Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) is native to the western edges of the Sahara Desert (Hidalgo et al., 2004). Pearl millet grows under difficult ecological conditions, tolerates poor soils better than other cereal crops and it appears to be tolerant of acidic soils with low fertility (Dozier et al., 2005; Sade, 2009). From nutritional stand point, pearl millet is an attractive feed grain for non ruminant animals as it combines a high level of
2
metabolizable energy with up to 50% increase in protein compared to maize. Most strikingly, is the level of the critical amino acids lysine and methionine, in which pearl millet is 40% richer than maize (Abubakar et al., 2006; Dale, 2006). When compared to maize or sorghum, pearl millet is reported to have equal or higher nutritive value (Heuze and Tran, 2012). Pearl millet is free of condensed polyphenils such as tannins in sorghum that can interfere or slow down digestibility (Abubakar et al., 2006).
Japanese quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica) are small-bodied birds of the Galliforme family. They were introduced into the Nigerian poultry in 1992 and they have gained tremendous interest among Nigerian populace especially because of their medicinal value, short generation interval, fast growth rate and less susceptibility to common poultry diseases (Bawa, 2006; Olatoye, 2011). They mature in about 6 weeks and are usually in full egg production by 50 days of age, with female quails laying 200-300 eggs in their first year of age.
1.1 Justification
Feed remains the most expensive input in poultry production with cereal grains constituting about 40% of the feed cost (Ijaiya et al., 2012). The reduction of feed particle size is the largest user of energy in layer industry where feeds are fed as mash. Hence, any reduction in energy consumption from grinding could significantly lower feed cost (Amerah, 2008). Energy required for grinding comprises between 25 and 30% of feed manufacturing (Umar Faruk et al., 2010a). Blair (2008) pointed out that the poultry digestive system is capable of processing whole grain and it therefore seems unnecessary to feed it a ground diet. Therefore, it is logical to think that the cost incurred in grinding and handling of cereals will be significantly reduced if birds are fed whole grains (Umar Faruk et al., 2010a). In addition, it allows the use of locally grown cereals in the farm
3
(Umar Faruk et al., 2010a). This is why in northern Europe, the feeding of whole wheat with concentrate to broilers is practiced, as it enables the use of wheat grown on site and this reduces feed costs (Engberg et al., 2004).This also reduces the amount of gas emissions due to grinding and transportation and the cost of transport and diet mixing as it may be more economical to transport only a protein concentrate.
Maize is the major source of energy in poultry production accounting for 45 – 65% of poultry feeds (Ijaiya et al., 2012). However, with the current trend of global warming, erratic fertilizer supply and increased transport costs, the availability and affordability of maize especially in the semi arid regions is likely to become difficult. Hence the search for viable alternatives and way of improving their utilization becomes imperative. Millet is one of such alternatives, as it is draught tolerant, with acceptable grain yields even on acidic soils with low fertility (Dozier et al., 2005).
The high fibre levels of pearl millet could be a limiting factor to its use in poultry diets. The utilization of this fibre could be improved with the use of exogenous enzymes (Singh and Perez-Maldonado, 1999). Svihus (2010) hypothesized that a more developed gizzard as a consequence of structural components may improve efficacy of exogenous enzymes. This could be due to increased retention time in the gizzard and the favourable pH there. Particle size influences retention time in the digestive tract. The larger the particle size, the longer feed is retained, the greater its exposure to endogenous and exogenous enzymes and subsequently the greater the nutrients utilization (Patrick, 2004).
4
1.2 Objectives
The objectives of this study were to determine;
1. The effect of pearl millet inclusion level as replacement for maize on performance of Japanese quails.
2. The effect of pearl millet form as replacement for maize on performance of Japanese quails.
3. The effect of enzyme supplementation of pearl millet diets as replacement for maize on performance of Japanese quails.
4. The interaction between pearl millet form and enzyme supplementation on performance of Japanese quails.
1.3 Hypotheses
The null hypotheses are:
1. The inclusion of pearl millet as replacement for maize gives similar performance of Japanese quails
2. Feeding whole or ground pearl millet as replacement for maize gives similar performance of Japanese quails
3. Enzyme supplementation of pearl millet diets as replacement for maize gives similar performance of Japanese quails.
4. There is no interaction between form and enzyme supplementation of pearl millet diets on performance of Japanese quails.
The alternate hypotheses are:
1. The inclusion of pearl millet as replacement for maize affects the performance of Japanese quails
5
2. Feeding whole or ground pearl millet as replacement for maize affects the performance of Japanese quails
3. Enzyme supplementation of pearl millet diets as replacement for maize affects the performance of Japanese quails.
4. There is interaction between form and enzyme supplementation of pearl millet diets on performance of Japanese quails.
IF YOU CAN'T FIND YOUR TOPIC, CLICK HERE TO HIRE A WRITER»
