Effect of dietary crude protein variations on growth performance, carcass characteristics and organ weights of pigeon squabs

Author: Sule, K., Adegbenro, M., Akintomide, A.A., Folorunso, O.R. and Onibi, G.E.
olukayodesule@gmail.com
Abstract:
Pigeon farming could alleviate Nigeria’s animal protein shortages, but the influence of feed quality on pigeon, particularly dietary crude protein, is largely undefined or limited. A feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of different dietary protein levels on the performance, carcass characteristics, and organ weights of pigeon squabs, aimed at establishing an optimal dietary crude protein requirement for pigeons. Five nearly isocaloric diets (ME: 2864 – 2871 Kcal/kg) containing 12, 14, 16, 18, and 20% CP were formulated and fed to pigeon squabs in a completely randomized experimental design (CRD), replicated three (3) times with four (4) birds per replicate. The results showed significant (p0.05) by varying crude protein levels, but the 16% CP diet showed numerically higher live-weight than others. Dietary treatments did not affect relative organ weights except for the spleen and pancreas. The study revealed that 16% is the dietary crude protein level that yielded optimal performance in key growth indicators of pigeon squabs.

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Key Words: Carcass, Nutrition, Organ, Pigeon
To Cite this Article Copy and paste this in your writting:
Sule, K., Adegbenro, M., Akintomide, A.A., Folorunso, O.R. and Onibi, G.E. (2024). Effect of dietary crude protein variations on growth performance, carcass characteristics and organ weights of pigeon squabs Annals of Anim. Bio. Res. 4(1): 9-17

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