Effect of Season and Dietary Moringa oleifera Leaf Meal on Growth Performance of the Pearl Guinea Fowl

Patrick Poku Jr., James Kagya-Agyemang, Fritz Bonsu, William Kwenin and Clement Kyere

Objective: A study was carried out to determine the effect of graded levels of Moringa oleifera leaf meal (MOLM) and season on growth performance of the Pearl Guinea fowl in Ghana. Materials and Methods: One hundred and sixty (160) local Guinea fowls (one-day-old) were used for the study. The birds were brooded from day-old to four weeks under the same housing and management practices. Four dietary treatments contained 0, 9, 12 and 15% MOLM in the diet were formulated. Each treatment had forty (40) birds with ten (10) birds per replicate and reared in three seasons (Dry season: December-March, Major rainy season: April-July and Minor rainy season: August-November). A 3×4 factorial arrangement was used for the experiment. Data collected were analyzed using General Linear Model (GLM) procedure of Statistical Analysis System and means were separated by the probability of difference (PDIFF) procedure. Results: Results showed that daily feed intake decreased (p<0.05) with increasing level of dietary MOLM. Body weight and body weight gain increased (p<0.05) with increasing level of dietary MOLM. Birds fed the control (0% MOLM) diet showed higher (p<0.05) FCR values (3.69, 3.42) at 0-4 and 5-8 weeks respectively while birds fed 15% MOLM had the lower FCR values (2.97 and 2.49) at 0-4 and 5-8 weeks, respectively. Daily feed intake, body weight and weight gain across the seasons were significantly (p<0.05) higher in the major rainy season followed by minor rainy season and least in the dry season. However, feed conversion ratio was better (p<0.05) in the major rainy season. Conclusion: Feeding of MOLM to guinea fowls promotes better feed utilization and enhances rapid growth. A 15% inclusion level for MOLM is recommended by this study for farmers and breeders.

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