Carcass Characteristics, Meat Quality and Hematological Indices of Broiler Chickens Fed on Palm Kernel Ration

The high cost and limited availability of conventional feed ingredients such as sunflower seed cake and cottonseed cake are among the major constraints to poultry production in developing countries like Tanzania. To address the challenges, this study evaluated the effects of incorporating palm kernel meal (PKM), a non-conventional feed ingredient, into broiler diets on carcass characteristics, meat quality, and hematological indices. A total of 195 one-day-old broiler chicks were used and randomly allocated to three dietary treatments in a completely randomized design (CRD), with 65 chicks assigned to each treatment and further subdivided into three replicates of 22 chicks each. The treatments were as follows: a control diet without PKM (T1), PKM replacing sunflower seed cake (T2), and PKM replacing cottonseed cake (T3). The experiment lasted for 42 days. Broilers in T2 showed significantly higher slaughter weight (2008.2g) compared with T1 (1759.3) and T3 (1834.2g) (p <0.05). Similarly, carcass weight (1563.1g) and dressing percentage (77.87%) were greater in T2 than in T1 (1271.1g; 72.2%) and T3 (1364.2g; 74.3%). Meat color and water-holding capacity were unaffected (p > 0.05), although muscle temperature and pH values differed significantly (p < 0.05), with T2 showing the highest temperature (37.28°C) and T3 the lowest pH (5.79). Hematological profiles, including red blood cell (RBC), white blood cell (WBC), hemoglobin (Hb), hematocrit, and mean corpuscular volume (MCV), did not differ significantly (p > 0.05), although minor but significant variations were observed neutrophils, monocytes, lymphocyte, and platelet counts (p < 0.05), indicating no adverse effects on overall blood health. These findings demonstrate that replacing sunflower seed cake with PKM enhances carcass yield while maintaining meat quality and healthy blood profiles. PKM can therefore be considered a viable and sustainable alternative protein source in broiler diets, particularly in regions where conventional feed ingredients are limited or expensive.