Poultry, Fisheries & Wildlife Sciences
Open Access

Abstract

On-Farm Evaluation of Cassava Root Chips and Moringa oleifera Leaf Meal Supplementation on the Performances of Scavenging Chicken

Etalem Tesfaye, Habitamu Geremew and Kassech Melese

An on-farm feed supplementation trial regarding to supplement village chicken scavenging system was carried out. The aim was to evaluate the effect of cassava root chips and Moringa oleifera leaf meal supplementation on the growth and laying performance of White feather chicken strain kept under village scavenging conditions. Data on feed consumption, egg production and body weight (BW) change was recorded and calculated. The feed consumption was calculated as how much feed was delivered to the respective household (replicate farmer) for the entire experimental period. Egg was collected daily by the farmer and egg weight was weighed every two weeks. Initial and final BW was taken at the start and end of the experiment, respectively and the change was calculated. The results revealed that as there was no significant (P>0.05) differences regarding the whole parameters taken between the supplemented and un-supplemented groups except high feed consumption to that of the supplemented one. In conclusion, the present result showed as there was not needed to supplement the birds additional by that flock size, the resource seems sufficient enough to support the nutrient requirements of the birds and the trial was conducted at harvest time. Further investigation is warranted to test the supplementation of scavenging birds with the flock size and seasonal variation.