PERFORMANCE AND ECONOMIC BENEFIT OF BROILER CHICKENS FED PEARL MILLET BASED DIETS SUPPLEMENTED WITH SYNTHETIC METHIONINE

Abstract

The rising costs and inconsistent availability of conventional feed ingredients like maize in broiler chicken production have necessitated the exploration of alternative grains, such as pearl millet, which, when supplemented with synthetic methionine, could potentially enhance both performance and economic returns. This study which was conducted for a period of eight weeks assessed the effectiveness and economic viability of feeding broiler chickens diets containing pearl millet supplemented with synthetic methionine. Three hundred broiler chicks were randomly assigned to five dietary groups for both the starter and finisher phases, with each group containing sixty birds. The experiment followed a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with three replications, each containing twenty birds. The diets for each group contained varying levels of DL methionine: 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.3%, 0.4%, and 0.5%, denoted as T1, T2, T3, T4, and T5 respectively. Although most performance metrics such as weight gain and feed intake did not exhibit significant differences among the groups, mortality rates showed a slight decrease with higher methionine inclusion. Economic analysis indicated that T1 had better Total Feed Cost (FC), and FC (₦/kg gain). The study concluded that pearl millet-based diets with synthetic methionine reduced mortality and proved cost-effective, offering a viable alternative for broiler chicken production.