Nutrient Values and Effects of Incorporating African Baobab (Adansonia digitata L.) Seed Cake in Finishing and Grower Diets on Zootechnical and Economic Performances of Broilers in Dakar Region, Sénégal

S.B. Ayssiwede, Y.A. Issa, G. Nahimana, B. Lamboni, D.G. Djossa, A.E. Djettin and A. Missohou

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of incorporating Adansonia digitata seed cake into the diets of broilers on zootechnical and economic performances. Materials and Methods: The finishing (5-7 weeks of age) and growing phases (3- 4 weeks old) were conducted from November to December 2014 and from February to March 2015 respectively. A total of 288 chickens of 4 weeks old and 372 chicks of 2 weeks old of cobb₅₀₀ strains were distributed after weighing in a completely randomized design in 4 batches of 72 subjects each with 3 replicates of 24 birds in finishing vs. 93 subjects per batch with 3 replicates of 31 birds in growing trial. Each of the 4 batches of broilers was fed with one of the 4 experimental finishing or growing diets (AD₀, AD₅, AD₁₀ and AD₁₅) containing 0, 5, 10 and 15% of A. digitata seed cake as substitution of groundnut cake. The obtained data were analyzed using a one-way ANOVA followed by the Duncan multiple range test using IBM-SPSS-v.23 software. Differences of p<0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: The incorporation of baobab seed cake up to 15% in broilers diets, in both finishing and growing phases, had no significant (p>0.05) adverse effect on their average live weight (ALW), average daily gain (ADG), daily feed intake (DFI) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) which remained almost similar to those of the control birds. Also, weights and dressing carcass and organ of broilers remained similar between dietary treatments, except for AD₅ in growing phase which were significantly improved compared to those of AD₀, AD₁₀ and AD₁₅. Individual feed costs for broilers treated with baobab seed cake were proportionally, if not significantly, higher than those of the control group. However, the incorporation of this seed cake in both finishing and growing diets increased the gross profit margins per kg carcass that were similar between treatments, except for AD₁₅ in finishing phase which remained significantly lower. Conclusion: Broilers can consume up to 15% of African baobab seed cake in their finishing or growing diets without negatively impacting their growth performance, or even the profitability of breeding operations, even the profit margin at 5% level of inclusion was equal or higher than that of the control.

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