Effect of restricted replacement of soybean meal with different levels of defatted apricot kernel meal on growth performance, carcass traits and blood constituents of broiler chickens

Abstract

A study was conducted to investigate the effects of deffated apricot kernel meal (DAKM) as a partial replacement for soybean meal (SBM) in broiler diets on growth performance, carcass traits, blood metabolites and economic efficiency. Three hundred; one-day-old Cobb-400 broilers, each with five replicates (n = 15 chicks per replicate), were submitted to one of the four diets containing 0, 25, 50, and 75% SBM were replaced with DAKM in starter and grower diets, respectively for 42 days in a completely randomized design. Body Weight (BW), Body Weight Gain (BWG) and Feed Intake (FI) were significantly lower in broilers fed (DAKM-35) and (DAKM-45) than those fed (DAKM-25) and (DAKM0), whereas Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) was better significantly when broilers fed on (DAKM-25). Performance Index (PI) was superior in the (DAKM-25) followed by SBM-fed groups when compared to the other groups. Digestibility coefficients of OM, CP, CF and NFE were significantly higher for broilers fed on (DAKM-25) than those fed other diets, however, EE was highest for broilers fed on (DAKM-35) and (DAKM-45). Carcass traits, cut-up parts and yields significantly increased (P