Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of cooked Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranean L.) on the growth performance and carcass characteristics of broiler chickens. One hundred and fifty (150) day-old chicks were randomly allotted into five treatment groups of thirty birds each and were replicated thrice in a completely randomized design (CRD). Five diets were formulated in such a way that cooked Bambara groundnut was used to replace 25% groundnut cake. Control diet contained no Bambara while diets 2, 3, 4 and 5 contained Bambara groundnut cooked for 30, 60, 90 and 120 minutes respectively. The study lasted for 8 weeks during which data were obtained on performance indices and carcass characteristics. At the end of the study, six birds per treatment were randomly selected, starved overnight, weighed and slaughtered by severing the jugular vein. Results showed that there were no significant (P>0.05) differences among the treatment means of the performance indices. Birds fed control had the highest final weight (1.977kg), followed by those fed diet 5 (1.837kg) and closely followed by birds fed diet 4 (1.833kg), while diet 3 recorded the lowest (1.700kg). There were no significant (P>0.05) differences in the cut-up parts and visceral organs. This study showed that cooking Bambara groundnut before incorporating into poultry diets has a beneficial effect on the birds.

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