Effect of varying levels of soybean meal on feed intake, carcass characteristics and sensory evaluation of cockerels fed with test diets

This study evaluates the impact of varying levels of soybean meal on feed intake, carcass characteristics, and sensory evaluation of cockerels. Conducted at the Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Nigeria, the experiment involved 2000 Novogen strain cockerels divided into four groups with different soybean meal levels: 9.17 kg (T2), 7.45 kg (T3), 6.1 kg (T4), and a control group (T1). Cockerels were reared for 70 days on deep litter with ad libitum feed and water. A Completely Randomised Design (CRD) with five replicates per treatment was employed. Growth performance data were collected weekly and analysed using ANOVA. Feed intake varied significantly among treatments, with T1 exhibiting the highest intake and T4 the lowest. Feed conversion ratio (FCR) results indicated that T1 had the poorest feed efficiency, while T2 had the best. Carcass evaluation revealed that T4 had the highest carcass weight and meat yield, especially in breast and drumstick meat. Sensory evaluation showed that T4 received the highest scores for appearance, texture, flavour and overall acceptability. The variations in feed intake and FCR highlight the importance of optimising soybean meal levels for improved feed efficiency and growth. T1’s higher intake but poorer FCR suggests that increased soybean meal levels can enhance nutrient utilisation. The superior carcass traits in T4 align with literature emphasising dietary composition’s impact on meat yield and quality. Keywords: Cockerels, soyabean meal, carcass trails, FCR, Nigeria