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Investigation of the Effect of Maize Substitution with Fermented Cashew Apple Residue on Broiler Chicken Growth

In this study, the effect of substitution of maize with fermented cashew apple residue (CAR) on the growth of broiler chicken was investigated. Cashew apple residue was subjected to fermentation with Lactobacillus plantarum, and then used to formulate broiler starter diet by substituting/mixing it with maize in the ratios 0:100, 50:50 and 100:0 for maize and CAR respectively. The diet was fed to four groups of day old broilers for six weeks during which feed intake and weight gained were monitored. The bacterial count increased from 5.6 × 106 at the beginning of the fermentation to 31.5 × 106 cfu/g at 72 hr. Also, the pH of the CAR was reduced gradually over the 72 hours period of fermentation coupled with increase in the total titratable acidity. The nutritional composition analyses of the compounded diets showed no significant difference (p≤0.05) between the crude protein content of the formulated feed (21.02±0.15 - 21.12±0.15%) and the commercially available feed (21.50±0.00). However, the crude fibre content of the control (3.10±0.00) was lower than the content of the formulated diets. After feeding the chicks for two weeks, there was no significant difference in the average weight gained by the chicks fed the control diet and those fed with fermented CAR-based feeds. The cumulative feed consumption in the groups ranged from 2.57 kg (diet C) to 2.91 kg (diet A). These results suggest that fermented CAR may be used as alternative to maize in broiler feed formulation