Growth Performance and Developmental Response of Broiler Chickens to Compounded versus Commercial Feeds

The rising expense of commercial feed in Nigeria has driven the quest for effective alternatives. A promising suitable option is the formulation of compounded feed and its usefulness is investigated in this study. Conducted in the Animal House Unit in the Department of Genetics and Biotechnology for nine weeks, this research was performed to compare the growth metrics and development of birds by analyzing parameters such as feed intake, feed conversion ratio, body weight, and mortality rate for those fed commercial versus compounded feed. This experiment included a total of 20 broiler chicks. They were fed commercial feed from week 0 to week 5. Within the finishing phase (weeks 5-9), they were randomly assigned into two categories: the reference group continued feeding on the commercial feed and the other group was fed with the formulated feed. Results showed that weight gain between birds fed commercial feed and those fed formulated feed did not differ significantly as shown in Table 7. Although there was a Least Significant Difference (LSD) in feed intake and feed conversion ratios between broilers fed commercial feed versus those fed formulated feed, the overall weight gain showed no significant difference. However, birds fed commercial feed had the highest mean body weight but this did not differ significantly (p<0.05) as indicated by Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Given that compound feed is considerably more affordable than commercial feed, this research finds that poultry producers can benefit from utilizing compounded feeds based on their cost-effectiveness and potential for higher profitability. Nonetheless, extension specialists, poultry owners and researchers must carefully consider the potential risks. It is highly recommended that regulatory bodies develop and implement measures to ensure some quality control for compounded feeds.