Influence of Supplementing Dl-Methionine and Methionine Hydroxyl Analogue-Free Acid on the Performance and Blood Indices of Broiler Chickens
Abstract
This experiment was conducted at the Department of Animal Science, Teaching and Research Farm, Faculty of Agriculture, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria to determine the effect of combining Dl-methionine and Methionine Hydroxyl Analogue-free Acid (MHA-FA) also known as Alimet on the performance and blood indices of starter broiler chickens. The experiment lasted for eight weeks. Two hundred and seventy (270) day old Hubbard Flex broiler chicks were allotted to six dietary treatments and replicated three times in a completely randomized design. A diet devoid of methionine was formulated with subsequent addition of mixture of MHA-FA and Dl-methionine at varying levels. Results obtained on performance revealed that weight gain, feed intake, feed cost per kg gain were not significantly (P>0.05) different. In addition, final weight and weight gain reduced across all treatments for starter and finisher phases of this study as inclusion level of MHA-FA decreased in the diet. On the other hand, Packed Cell Volume (PCV), Red blood cell (RBC), and White Blood Cell (WBC) were significantly (P<0.05) different across all treatment groups in the starter phase except for heamoglobin concentration which did not differ significantly. Serum cholesterol was not significantly (P>0.05) different across all treatment groups in both starter and finisher phases of this study. Total cholesterol on the other hand was significantly (P<0.05) different across all treatment (T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5 respectively) in the finisher phase but was not significantly (P<0.05) different in the starter phase.
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References
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