Dietary Effect of Processed Orange Peels on Growth Performance of Broiler Finisher Birds

Abstract

A study was conducted to investigate the effect of varying dietary levels of processed orange peels on the performance of broiler finisher birds. A total of 60 4-week old Anak broiler birds were allocated into four treatment groups of 15 birds each. The experiment lasted for four weeks. The groups were randomly assigned to four iso-nitrogenous (20.01-20.04% CP) and iso-caloric (2.88-2.95 Mcal/kgME) diets containing four levels (0, 5, 10, and 15%) of processed orange peels. Each treatment was replicated three times with five birds per replicate. The Response parameters studied were body weight, feed intake, body weight gain, feed conversion ratio and protein efficiency ratio. The results showed that significant (P<0.05) differences existed in average daily feed intake (ADFI), feed conversion ratio (FCR), daily protein intake (DPI) and protein efficiency ratio(PER). Increasing levels of processed sweet orange peel significantly (P>0.05) decreased the average final body weight, average daily weight gain, ADFI, DPI and PER, and increased FCR as the level of processed orange peels increased in the diet. Based on the results obtained in the present study, it was therefore concluded that inclusion of processed sweet orange peels had adverse effect on the growth rate and nutrient utilization by broiler finisher birds.