PERFORMANCE AND HAEMATOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF BROILER CHICKENS FED GRADED DIETARY LEVELS OF Alchornea cordifolia LEAF MEAL

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1 PERFORMANCE AND HAEMATOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF BROILER CHICKENS FED GRADED DIETARY LEVELS OF Alchornea cordifolia LEAF MEAL Okah 1*, U., Onwujiariri 2, E. B., Adedokun 1, O. O., Nwachukwu 1, C. C. and Aja 2, F. U. ABSTRACT 1 Department of Animal Production and Livestock Management,College of Animal Science and Animal Production, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, P.M.B. 7267, Umuahia, Abia State. 2 Federal College of Agriculture, Ishiagu, P.M.B. 7008, Ebonyi State. okahuc@yahoo.co.uk A feeding trial was conducted to determine the growth performance, hematological biochemical and carcass characteristics of starter and finisher broiler chickens fed graded dietary levels of Alchornea Cordifolia leaf meal (ACLM). Alchornea cordifolia leaf meal was incorporated into four (4) broiler starter and finisher diets at 0.0%, 2.5%, 5.0% and 7.5% dietary levels as a replacement for soyabean meal. A total of 120 Anak broiler chicks at 2 weeks of age were used for the study. The birds were divided into four (4) groups of thirty (30) birds, and each group replicated three times with ten (10) birds per replicate. Each group was randomly assigned to one of the dietary groups in a completely randomized design (CRD). The diets and water were offered ad-libitum throughout the period of study. The starter broiler chicks consumed less feed (p<0.05), and also gained less weight (p<0.05) as the level ACLM increased in diets. The inclusion of ACLM, negatively affected haematological and the blood biochemical parameters, except, haemoglobin, which was improved at 5.0%. At the finisher phase, the feed intake was similar (p>0.05) in the control and 5.0% groups. The daily weight gain and feed conversion ratio were better (p<0.05) in the control group than in the ACLM groups. The dressing percentage of the birds fed control diet was higher (p<0.05) than the groups fed ACLM diets. The liver and the lungs were significantly (p<0.05) enlarged in the groups fed 5.0 and 7.5% ACLM. The cost of feed generally was lower in diets containing ACLM than the control diet. In conclusion, ACLM cannot be added beyond 2.5% and 5.0% levels in starter and finisher broiler chickens diets respectively. Keywords: broiler, carcass, chickens, growth, haematology INTRODUCTION Poultry is an important source of protein to the world and source of income to the farmer (Obioha, 1992). Broiler enterprise according to Obioha (1992) is the quickest source of meat and its production involves the least hazardous and arduous process in relation to other livestock enterprises. Therefore, poultry production stands the easiest means of boosting the maximum supply of meat as animal protein source. The cost of feed is a major constraint in poultry production. This high cost of feed is mainly due to competition between man and livestock for grains and conventional sources of protein. The solution to this problem is to search for alternatives which should have comparable nutritive value, but cheaper than the conventional sources. Leaf meals not only serve as protein source but also provide some necessary vitamins such as vitamin A and C, minerals and also oxycarotenoides (D Mello, 1992) which cause yellow colour of broiler skin, shank and egg yolk. Some trials had been conducted to determine the response of birds and other non-ruminant animals to the inclusion of leaf meals of some tropical plants at different dietary rates. These trials had been conducted on Gliricida sepium, Robina pseudoacacia and albizia specie on monogastric nutrition. Alchornea cordifolia is a popular browse plant which forms a good proportion of the green vegetation in the humid tropical zone of Southern Nigeria. The importance of Alchornea cordifolia in the region arises from the fact that it is commonly used as a browse plant by the farmers for their small ruminants (Udedibe and Opara, 1998). Alchornia cordifolia leaf meal contains phytate (1.21%), oxalate (0.86%), saponin (2.04%), phenols (1.16%), cardiac glycosides (0.11%) and hydrocynic acid (22.30mg/kg) (Alikwe and Timibitei, 2012). Studies on nutrient composition revealed that Alchonea cordifolia leave meal contains per kg, 186.8g crude protein, g crude fibre, 50.1 g ether extract, 24.2 g ash, g NFE and (MJ per kg) energy (Udedibie and Opara, 1998). Alikwe and Timibitei (2012) reported per kg, g crude protein, g crude fibre, 43.50g ether extract, g ash, g NFE and (MJ per kg) energy. However, few studies have so far been attempted to harness the wealth of discoveries in this browse plant to benefit monogastric animals such as broiler chickens. The purpose of this research work was therefore to evaluate the performance, haematological and serum biochemical responses of broiler chickens fed graded levels of dietary Alchornea cordifolia. NJAFE VOL. 12 No. 2,

2 MATERIALS AND METHOD Location of Experiment This research work was conducted at the Poultry unit of the Federal College of Agriculture, Ishiagu, Ivo local government area Ebonyi State. The site is located within latitude 5º 55 ' N and longitude 7º 31 ' E, having mean annual rainfall of 1655 mm and average temperature of 28.5 o C. The average relative humidity during the experiment was 88%. (FCAI, 2006). Processing of experimental material The leaves of Alchonea cordifolia used for the study were harvested from the bushes around Ishiagu area. Although the leaves were abundant in the bush, only the green leaves were harvested. The tender and older leaves were not harvested. Hence, the leaves were harvested by hand plucking and picking excluding the petioles. The leaves were chopped into smaller particles to facilitate drying. The chopped leaves were spread and air dried under room temperature until they became crispy, a process which lasted five days; with the leaves still retaining its greenish colour. The dried leaves were then milled, using a hammer mill of 2mm gauge to produce the leaf meal. Experimental diets, design and management of birds Four (4) experimental diets for each of the two phases, starter and finisher as shown in Tables 1 and 2 were formulated which contained Alchronea cordifolia leaf meal at 0.0%, 2.5%, 5.0% and 7.5% levels. Table 1: Composition of experimental broiler starter diets Ingredients T1 (0%) T2 (2.5%) T3 (5%) T4 (7.5%) Maize SBM ACLM PKC Wheat offal Fish meal Blood meal Bone meal *Premix Salt Total Calculated Composition Crude Protein Crude fibre ME (kcal per kg) Calcium Phosphorus Ether extract *Each 2.5kg contains: Vit.A-10,000,000IU; Vit.D3-2,000,000IU; Vit.E- 20,000IU; Vit. K-2,250mg; Thiamine-1750mg; Riboflavin-5,000mg; Pyridoxine-2,750mg; Niacin- 27,500mg; Vit. B12-15mg; Pantothenic acid-7,500mg; Folic acid 7,500mg; Biotin-50mg; Choline chloride- 400g; Antioxidant-125g; Manganese-80g; Zinc-50g; Iron-20g;Copper-5g; Iodine- 1.5g; Selenium-200mg and Cobalt-200mg One hundred and twenty (120) broiler chicks brooded for 2 weeks were divided into four dietary groups and each group sub-divided into three replicates of ten (10) birds. The four groups were randomly assigned to either of the diets in a completely randomized design (CRD). Each replicate was housed in a 2m x 3m concrete floor covered with wood shavings as litter material. At the end of the starter phase of three weeks, the birds were randomized again for the finisher phase which lasted five weeks. During the study, routine vaccinations and medications were properly administered. The birds were offered the experimental diets and water ad-libitum. Data collection Initial body weight of the experimental birds was taken just prior to the commencement of the experiment and thereafter, the birds were weighed weekly. The average daily feed intake was recorded by subtracting the quantity of feed leftover from the quantity offered and divided by the number of birds. Feed conversion ratio was determined by dividing their average daily feed intake by their average daily body weight gain. Collection of blood samples At the end of the starter phase (third week of the experiment), 5ml of blood was collected each from twelve birds, one from each replicate through their wing with a syringe. One half of the blood sample was transferred into a bottle containing Ethylene Diamine Tetra Acetic Acid (EDTA) anticoagulant for the haematological analyses, while the remaining was transferred into an anticoagulant free bottle for serum biochemical analyses. Carcass Evaluation NJAFE VOL. 12 No. 2,

3 At the end of the feeding trial, two birds per replicate was randomly selected and starved of feed for 24 hours then weighed before and after slaughtering. The birds were defeathered, eviscerated and the internal organs separated and weighed individually. The carcass and organs were expressed as percent of the live weight. Table 2: Composition of the experimental finisher broiler diets Ingredients T1 (0%) T2 (2.5%) T3 (5%) T4 (7.5%) Maize SBM ACLM PKC Wheat offal Fish meal Blood meal Bone meal *Premix Salt Total Calculated Composition Crude Protein Crude fibre ME (kcal per kg) Calcium Phosphorus Ether extract *Each 2.5kg contains: Vit.A-10,000,000IU; Vit.D3-2,000,000IU; Vit.E- 20,000IU; Vit. K-2,250mg; Thiamine-1750mg; Riboflavin-5,000mg; Pyridoxine-2,750mg; Niacin- 27,500mg; Vit. B12-15mg; Pantothenic acid-7,500mg; Folic acid 7,500mg; Biotin-50mg; Choline chloride- 400g; Antioxidant-125g; Manganese-80g; Zinc-50g; Iron-20g;Copper-5g; Iodine- 1.5g; Selenium-200mg and Cobalt-200mg Statistical analysis Data collected were subjected to one way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The significant means were separated using Fishers least significant difference (FLSD) (Steel and Torrie, 1980). RESULT AND DISCUSSION Table 3 shows the performance of the starter broiler chickens fed dietary levels of Alchornea corfifolia meal. The daily feed intake and daily weight gain were better (p<0.05) in the control group (T1) than T3 and T4, but similar with T2. However, T2 recorded similar values with T3 group. This trend was observed by Alikwe and Tuagha (2013), who reported a significant decrease in feed intake and growth of birds as the level of Alchornea corfifolia meal increased from 6% to 12%. The increase in fibre content of diets with increased levels of the leaf meal could have resulted in reduced energy and protein intake which resulted to poor growth. The presence of some antinutritional factors in the leaf meal may have also reduced the palatability of diets resulting in reduced feed intake as earlier reported by Alikwe and Timibitei (2012). This implies that for optimum performance of starter broiler chickens, dietary Alchornea cordifolia leaf meal must not exceed 2.5%. The cost /kg feed, feed cost per bird and cost per kg weight gain reduced with increase in the dietary levels of ACLM. The results of haematolical and biochemical constituents of the birds are shown on Table 4. The haemoglobin was higher (p<0.05) in the control group than the groups fed Alchornea cordifolia leaf meal diets. High dietary fibre, low protein intake and the presence of some anti-nutrient phytochemicals could have affected the Hb concentration of the birds that fed ACLM diets (Ross and Enridwez, 1996; Aderemi and Faniyi, The packed cell volume was not significant (p>0.05) and thus ACLM did not negatively affect PCV of birds. This agrees with the earlier report by Hackbart et al. (1983). The white blood cells were reduced by 7.50% ACLM. Feeding of ACLM at 5.0% significantly (p<0.05) increased the red blood cells in comparison to the control and 2.50%. This shows that ACLM could be used to improve red blood cells probably due to presence of vitamins in forages. Total protein decreased significantly (p<0.05) at 5.0 and 7.50% levels which could be as a result of anti-nutritional factors. Creatinine levels in 2.50% and 5.00% ACLM were lower than the control and 7.50%. It was observed that at 7.50%, ACLM generated higher urea (p<0.05). Higher urea concentration in birds fed ACLM shows poor quality of the diets at higher levels of ACLM. High blood urea had earlier been reported as an indicator of poor protein quality (Eggun, 1970). The influence of the diets on the red blood cells of the birds appears to have directly affected the mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) and mean cell volume (MCV). This observation agrees with the report by Soetan et al. (2013) in their study on raw and processed guinea corn fed to cockerels. NJAFE VOL. 12 No. 2,

4 Table 3: Performance of starter broiler chickens fed dietary Alchornea cordifolia leaf meal Initial body weight (g) Average final body weight (g) a ab b c Average daily feed intake (g) 60.33a 55.54ab 42.77b 25.50c 4.48 Average daily weight gain (g) 24.60a 22.88ab 16.11b 13.43c 1.50 Feed conversion ratio 2.46ab 2.43b 2.66a 2.05c 0.07 Mortality (%) Cost/ Kg feed (N) Feed cost /bird Feed cost/weight gain abc Means with different superscripts in a row differ significantly (p < 0.05) Table 4: Haematological and serum biochemistry of broiler chicks fed dietary Alchornea cordifolia leaf meal Parameter T1 (0%) T2 (2.5%) T3 (5%) T4 (7.5%) SEM Hb (g per 100ml) 8.00a 5.90c 6.80bc 6.90b 0.31 PCV (%) WBC (103mm3) a a a b RBC (106 per mm3) 3.47b 3.77b 4.70a 4.00ab 0.26 Total protein (mg per 100ml) 5.17a 5.33a 4.87b 4.70b 0.10 Creatinine (mg per 100ml) 1.87a 1.33b 1.20b 1.47ab 0.14 Urea (mg per 100ml) 25.33b 27.33ab 26.00b 29.00a 0.74 MCHC (%) MCH (%) 23.00a 15.78b 14.41b 16.79b 1.19 MCV (µm3) 78.21a 55.63b 50.17b 59.12b 4.17 abc Means with different superscripts in a row differ significantly (p < 0.05). Hb- Haemoglobin, PCV Packed cell volume, WBC White blood cell, RBC Red blood cell, MCHC Mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration, MCH - Mean corpuscular haemoglobin, MCV Mean cell volume. Table 5: Performance of finisher broiler chickens fed dietary Alchornea cordifolia leaf meal Initial body weight (g) Final body weight (g) a b b c Total weight gain (g) a b b c Average daily feed intake (g) a b ab c 3.94 Average daily weight gain (g) 49.93a 44.52b 43.95b 33.67c 1.92 Feed conversion ratio 3.40c 3.63b 3.84ab 4.10a 0.09 Mortality (%) Cost per kg feed(n) Feed cost per bird Feed cost per weight gain abc Means with different superscripts in a row differ significantly (p < 0.05). Table 5 shows the performance of finisher broiler fed the different levels of ACLM. The daily feed intake differed significantly (p<0.05) among the treatment means, but the control (T1) group had similar (p>0.05) feed intake with the T3 (5.0% ACLM). The feed intake at the finisher phase indicates that the finisher broiler birds tolerated higher levels of the ACLM than the starter broiler chickens which could not tolerate beyond 2.50%. The daily weight gain was higher (p<0.05) in the control group than the groups fed ACLM. However, 2.50 and 5.0% produced similar (p>0.05) values, same was true in their feed conversion ratio, indicating that the finisher broiler birds could not tolerate more than 5.0% dietary ACLM. The finisher broiler chickens like the starter chickens had reduced cost/kg feed and feed cost/bird. However, there was increase in the feed cost/weight gain for birds fed 5.0% dietary ACLM. The effect of Alchornea cordifolia leaf meal on carcass and internal organs of the finisher broilers is indicated on Table 6. The dressing percentage of the control group was higher compared with the groups fed ACLM diets, which were similar (p<0.05). This may have resulted from better nutrient conversion by birds on the control diet. The weight of most of the organs differed significantly (p<0.05). The value of heart was reduced, while lungs and gizzard were increased by ACLM. The liver showed hypertrophy indicating that the liver is the most sensitive organ to any ingested anti nutrients by birds. The significantly (p<0.05) lower abdominal fat in the group fed the 7.5% NJAFE VOL. 12 No. 2,

5 could be attributed to high dietary fibre. This observation had earlier been reported by Abdelsamine et al. (1983) that abdominal fat reduces with increase in fibre content of the diet. Table 6: Carcass and organs characteristics of finisher broiler chickens fed Alchornea cordifolia leaf meal Live weight(g) a b b c Dressing (%) a b b b 1.91 Heart (%) 1.08 a 1.07 a 1.03 a 0.85 b 0.05 Lungs (%) 1.17 b 1.36 a 1.66 a 1.38 a 0.10 Gizzard (%) 3.23 b 4.32 ab 5.05 a 4.07 ab 0.38 Abdominal fat(%) 0.95 b 1.36 ab 1.91 a 0.89 b 0.24 Liver (%) 1.25 b 1.46 b 1.59 ab 2.11 a 0.18 Intestine (%) Spleen (%) abc Means with different superscripts in a row differ significantly (p<0.05). CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION Alchornea cordifolia leaf meal is a promising feed ingredient for poultry, but has high fibre content that could lead to nutrient dilution if included beyond certain levels. The starter broiler chicken cannot tolerate more than 2.5% dietary level, while the finisher birds cannot tolerate beyond 5.0% dietary level. Therefore, 2.5% and 5.0% of ACLM could be included in diets for starter and finisher broiler chickens respectively. REFERENCES Abdelsamine, R. E., Ranaweera, K. N. P. and Nano, W. E The influence of fibre content and physical texture of the diet on the performance of broilers in the tropics. British. Poultry Science. 24: Aderemi, F. A. and Faniyi, T. O Haematology and biochemistry of broiler chickens fed cassava leaf meal based diet. Proceedings of 38 th Conference of Nigerian Society of Animal Production March, Riverrs State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcort. 800p Alikwe, P. C. N. and Timibitei, K. O Evaluation of the chemical and phytochemical constituents of Alchronea cordifolia leaf meal as potential feed for monogastric livestock Resilience of agricultural systems against crises Tropentag, Gottinen-kassel/Witzenenhausten Germany. Alikwe P. C. N. and Tuagha, B Performance of broiler chicks fed varying replacement levels of Alchronea cordifolia leaf meal for soya bean meal. Proceedings of 38 th Conference of Nigerian Society of Animal Production March, Riverrs State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcort.800p Eggun, B. O Blood urea measurement as technique for assessing protein quality. British Journal of Nutrition.. 48: FCAI Federal College of Agriculture, Ishiagu, Agro Meteorological Unit. Ebonyi State. Hackbart, H., Buron, K. and Schimansley, G Mannual on Laboratory Animals. 17:1-12 Obioha, F. C A Guide to poultry production in the tropics. Acena publication. Enugu, Nigeria.18p. Oluremi, O. I. A. and Sridhar, M. K. C Effect of Domestic efflurnt utilization on the blood characteristics of grower pullets. Nigerian Journal of Animal Production. 31: Ros, E. and Enridwez, F. D The nutritive values of cassava peel meal. Poultry Science. 48: Soetan, K. O., Akinrinde, A. S. and Ajibade, T. O Preliminary studies on the haematological parameters of cockerels fed raw and processed guinea corn (Sorghum bicolor). Proceedings of 38 th Conference of Nigerian Society of Animal Production17-20 March, Riverrs State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcort. 800p Steel, R. G. D. and Torrie, J. H Principles and Procedures of Statistics. A biochemical Approach 2 nd edition McGraw Hill. New York. Udedibe, A. B. I. and Opara, C. C Response of growing broilers and laying hens to the dietary inclusion of leaf meal from Alchornea cordofolia. Animal Feed Science and Technology. 71 : NJAFE VOL. 12 No. 2,