Performance and Blood Indices of Broilers Fed Diets Containing Fermented Citrus sinensis (Orange) Pulp Supplemented with or without Multi-Enzyme

Citrus sinensis (Orange) pulp is rich in energy and could serve as a feed ingredient for poultry. This study investigated the performance and blood indices of broilers fed diets containing fermented orange pulp (FOP) supplemented with or without multi-enzyme. Two hundred birds were utilized in a six-week daily feeding trial. The broilers were split up into five groups of four replicates having ten birds in a completely randomized design. The five groups were fed: (Control) diet without FOP meal or multi-enzyme (Natuzyme®); the FOP5 diet containing 5% FOP without multi-enzyme; the FOP10 diet containing 10% FOP without multi-enzyme; the FEOP5 diet containing 5% FOP with multi-enzyme; the FEOP10 diet containing 10% FOP with multi-enzyme.  Performance and blood parameters were assessed. Blood was withdrawn via the brachial veins of the broilers on day 42. The FOP meal had higher (p<0.05) fibre content than maize meal. The FOP5 and FOP10 groups exhibited poor (p<0.05) average daily feed intake, average daily weight gain, final live weight, and feed conversion ratio compared to the control, FEOP5, and FEOP10 groups. Birds fed FOP5 and FOP10 diets had lower (p<0.05) packed cell volume (PCV) and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) compared to the control, FEOP5, and FEOP10 groups. Total serum protein, globulin, and glucose levels reduced (p<0.05) in FOP5 and FOP10 groups compared to the control group, while broilers on FEOP5 and FEOP10 diets showed improvements. This study indicates that multi-enzyme-supplemented FOP meal can be utilized in animal feed, as it enhances poultry performance and blood indices.