STANDARDISATION OF FINISHER RATION FOR GRAMASREE COCKERELS FOR MEAT PURPOSE
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Date
2019-09-30
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Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences Mannuthy, Thrissur
Abstract
An experiment was carried out to standardise the finisher ration for
Gramasree cockerels for meat purpose. Three hundred and thirty-six, Gramasree
male birds of six weeks age were procured from University Poultry and Duck Farm,
Mannuthy and allotted to six dietary treatments having four replicates of 14 birds
each and the experiment was conducted from seven to fourteen weeks of age.The six dietary treatment comprised of two levels of metabolizable energy
and three levels of crude protein in a factorial design. The dietary treatment T1, T2
and T3 were 20:3000, 19:3000 and 18:3000, respectively and T4, T5 and T6 were
20:3200, 19:3200 and 18:3200, respectively. The growth parameters were studied
from seven to fourteen weeks of age and slaughter studies were carried out at the
end of 10 th , 12 th and 14 th weeks of age using two birds from each replicate.The results revealed that the mean body weight at fortnightly intervals was
significantly (p<0.05) higher in T1 and T2 group at 14 weeks of age. The difference
in mean cumulative body weight gain was not significant at different periods among
the treatments. The effect of energy on cumulative body weight gain was significant
at seven to ten and seven to twelve weeks period but effect of protein and their
interaction did not influence the cumulative body weight gain.The mean cumulative feed consumption of birds was significantly (p<0.05)
higher in T3 group during seven to ten weeks period while it was significantly
(p<0.05) higher in T1, T2 and T3 group during seven to twelve weeks period. The
individual effect of energy showed significantly (p<0.05) higher feed consumption
in birds fed with diet containing 3000 kcal/kg ME compared to 3200 kcal/kg ME at
seven to twelve and seven to fourteen weeks period. The effect of protein on
cumulative feed consumption showed that it was significantly (p<0.05) higher in
18 per cent CP group than 20 per cent CP group. The effect of energy and protein
on mean cumulative FCR was significant (p<0.05), but not their interactions. The
effect of energy, protein and their interaction on eviscerated yield and ready-to-
cook yields was significant at 10, 12 and 14 weeks of age. Effect of energy on abdominal fat per cent was significant at 12 and 14 weeks of age, but the effect of protein and interaction was not significant.The mean cumulative livability from seven to fourteen weeks ranged from
98.93 to 100 per cent among treatment groups. With respect to economics of
cockerel rearing up to 10, 12 and 14 weeks period, the highest net profit per
kilogram live weight was obtained with T1 (20% CP with 3000 kcal/kg ME) and
T2 (19% CP with 3000 kcal/kg ME) groups compared to other treatments groups.
Among the three periods cockerel rearing was found to be more profitable up to 10
weeks of age, thereafter profit was reduced due to the decline in body weight gain
and poor FCR. Based on the overall performance of cockerels and the findings on the
economical parameters assessed, it could be concluded that finisher diet with 19 per
cent CP and 3000 kcal/kg ME is found to be optimum for Gramasree cockerel
rearing for meat purpose. This study also reveals that the age of introduction of
finisher ration may be fixed at eight weeks instead of six weeks for rearing
Gramasree cockerels for meat purpose. If consumer preference is for birds with
higher body weight at slaughter, then rearing of Gramasree cockerels can be
extended further.
Description
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of
Master of Veterinary Science of Poultry Science