ABSTRACT

Squilla meal was evaluated as substitute for the expensive imported fish finisher chicken diets. A total of 120 unsexed spneoushead day-old broiler chicks reared on commercial broiler diets fiber a period of4 weeks. Thereafter, they were rarido looted to 5 Treatment diets designated as Diets I, 2, 3, 4 and 5 respectively. The fish meal component of the diets (1-5) Were respectively replaced with the processed . Squall real a 0. 5. 50. 75 and I 00% in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD). Each treatment group had 24 birds which were replicated thrice with 8 birds perpend. The experiment lasted 4 weeks 'eek 4 to 8). Feed and fresh drinking water. were provided. Proper litter iauagenlen1. sanitation and medication were religiously adopted. Proximate composition of dry matter. crude protein, ether extract, crude fiber, ash, nitrogen free extract, moisture, carbohydrate and metabolizable energy were determine using analytical method of AOAC. Data generated were subjected to analysis of variance and significant treatment means were separated using Duncan Multiple Range Test. The results showed that mean total weight gain and feted-to-gain ratio were not significantly (P > 0.05) influenced. The values ranged from I 565.59g (Diet 2) to 1804.55g (Diet I, control) lbr the mean weight gain. and 2.55g (Diets) to 2.7() (Diet 3) for feed-to-gain ratio. This is an indication that the diets were comparable. The carcass characteristics and organ proportions maybe also showed no significant ( P > 0.05) difference (except in the proventiculus, kidney and abdominal fat) among tile treattuciil diets. The percentage dressed weights ranged from 58.09% (Diet 3) to 65.61% (Diet 'I) without following any definite trend traceable to the diets. From the foregoing. ii can he concluded that substituting fish meal with the locally produced squall meal holds a great promise iii livestock production.