Performance, carcass, and organoleptic scores of broiler chickens fed diets containing wet or sun-dried fermented mixture of grated cassava roots and palm kernel cake as replacements for maize.

The cost and effectiveness of drying processes have often limited the incorporation of solid-state fermented agro-industrial by-products into poultry feeding programs. In this study, the efficacy of replacing maize with wet or sun-dried solid-state fermented mixture of grated cassava root meal and palm kernel cake (FCP) was evaluated. One hundred and twenty (120), three weeks old broiler chicks were allotted to four treatment groups of 30 birds each in a completely randomized design. Each group was further replicated thrice with 10 chicks per replicate. Four broiler finisher rations were formulated such that Diet 1 contained maize as the major energy source while Diets 2, 3, and 4 contained wet FCP, sun-dried FCP, and a 1:1 mixture of Cassava root meal and Palm kernel cake (CSM-PKC) respectively as replacement of maize. Data was collected on the performance, carcass, and sensory attributes of broilers. The results show that chicks on dietary wet FCP had significantly (p<0.05) lower bodyweights, weight gains, and feed intake but similar (p>0.05) feed conversion ratio compared to those on the control (T1) diets and other treatment groups. The cost of feed per kilogram weight gain was significantly lower among chicks fed wet FCP (N244.00) compared with other treatment groups. It is therefore concluded that feeding broilers with solid-state fermented mixture of grated cassava and palm kernel cake without further processing such as sun drying would be effective in replacing maize in broilers diets.