Effects of Varying Inclusion Levels of Different Parts of <i>Costus afer</i> on the Packed Cell Volume of Broilers

Broilers are very important components of the poultry industry that serve as sources of animal protein and income. A study to determine the effects of varying inclusion levels of different parts of <i>Costus afer</i> on the packed cell volume (PCV) of broilers was carried out in the animal house of the Department of Zoology, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra state, Nigeria. 150-day-old broiler chicks with mean initial body weight of 35g were randomly distributed into ten dietary treatment groups, A – J, in a 3 x 4 factorial design (3 plant parts of <i>Costus afer</i> and 4 inclusion levels). The plant parts were leaf meal, stem meal and leaf + stem meal, while the four inclusion levels were 0%, 1%, 2% and 3%. Each treatment group contained 15 birds, divided into three replicates of five weight-matched birds. The experiment lasted for 10 weeks. The data collected on PCV was entered into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet (version 2016) and subjected to statistical analysis using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software for windows (version 26). Descriptive analysis results were represented as mean ± standard deviation and the statistical significance difference between the different treatment groups was analyzed using two-way ANOVA. Duncan’s multiple range test was used to separate the mean significant differences between the plant parts and inclusion levels. The level of significance was set at <I>P</I> < 0.05. The result of the PCV of the broilers showed that there was a statistically significant effect (<I>P</I> < 0.05) of plant part (<I>P</I> = 0.036) on the mean PCV of the broilers at 3 weeks. Also, there was a statistically significant effect (<I>P </I>< 0.05) of the interaction between plant part and inclusion level (<I>P</I> = 0.019) on the final mean PCV of the broilers. From the findings of the study, the different inclusion levels of the experimental plant produced different favourable outcomes, thus it is recommended that <i>Costus afer</i> should be used as an additive when compounding the feed of broilers.