The effect of partial replacement of maize by alkali-treated date pits on broiler growth, survival rate and economic returns

摘要

Thestudyfellintotwoparts.Inthefirstpartdatepitsweretreatedwith3,6,9or12%NaOHsolutiontoimproveitsdigestibility.Bothtreateddatepits(TDP)anduntreateddatepits(UDP)containedlowcrudeprotein(51-57g/kg)andhighcrudefiber(188.2-149.7g/kg).NaOHtreatmentimproveddrymatterdigestibility(DMD).DMDcoefficientofUDPwas0.137andthatofTDPvariedbetween0.187-0.198.DMDincreasedprogressivelywiththeincreaseinthestrengthofNaOHsolutionusedtotreatdatepits.nbsp;nbsp;Inthesecondpartofthestudy3%and6%NaOHtreateddatepitspartiallyreplacedmaizeinbroiler#8217;sdietandwereincludedattherateof10,20,30or40%ofthediet.Theeightexperimentaldietsandthecontroldietthatcontained40%maizeandnodatepitswereassignedatrandomtoninegroupsof44day-oldchickseach.Eachgroupcontainedfourreplicatesof11chicks.Thedietswerefedforsixweeks.Overallmeanfeedconsumptionnbsp;onthecontroldietwas3042g,feedconversionratiowas1.807units,survivalratewas95.46%andnbsp;meanfinalweightwastheweretheheaviest.Thecorrespondingvaluesforchicksraisedondietscontainingtreateddatepitswere3151g,2.582unitsand85.5%,respectively.Carcasscompositionandeatingqualityofthemeatwasnotaffectedbythetreatment.Thehighestfinancialreturnwasobtainedonthecontroldietwhereasthebestfinancialreturnofdatepitscontainingdietrepresented0.77ofthereturnsdisplayedbythecontrolgroup.