Effects of supplementation Senegalia macrostachya seed flour on the zootechnical performance of traditional chickens from Burkina Faso

The decline in productivity of traditional chicken in Burkina Faso is mainly linked to the management of its feeding. This work aimed to evaluate the acceptability of Senegalia macrostchya seed flour in the feed ration of traditional chickens. This study involved 50 traditional chicks aged eight weeks. The chickens were divided into five batches of ten chicks corresponding to the five experimental diets containing 0%, 1%, 2%, 3% and 4% Senegalia macrostachya seed meal. The nutritional composition of Senegalia macrostachya seed meal, growth parameters and carcass characteristics were determined. Senegalia macrostachya seeds were mainly rich in protein (40.3 ± 0.74% DM) and fat (27 ± 6.45% DM). These seeds also contain mineral salts with particularity for calcium (0.41 ± 0.00% DM). In addition, Senegalia macrostachya seeds were rich in palmitic acid, α-linolenic acid, linoleic acid, and oleic acid. Thus, the group of chickens fed with 3% supplementation of Senegalia macrostachya seed meal had a feed conversion ratio (4.61), individual feed consumption (42.56 g/d) and average daily gain (11.29 g/d) higher than the other supplementation levels (0.1, 2 and 4%). However, this supplementation resulted in a decrease in abdominal fat of the batches of 1%, 2%, 3% and 4% compared to the 0% control batch. Senegalia macrostachya seed flour could be a solution to the protein source problem in traditional chicks.