Growth and carcass traits in broiler chicken fed on low-tannin grain sorghum in Kenya

A feeding trial was performed to evaluate response of grower broiler chicken (Gallus gullus domesticus) to dietary replacement of maize (Zea mays) with low-tannin grain sorghum, Sorghum bicolor (LTS) in a small-holder poultry farm setting in Kenya. One hundred and twenty mixed-sex broiler chicks were allocated to three dietary treatments (1, 2 and 3) prepared by replacing maize with LTS at 0, 40 and 80 per cent (w/w), respectively. Forty broilers were allocated to each dietary treatment in four replications (n =10) and fed on the trial diets for 30 days. At five-day intervals, feed intake, weight gain and feed conversion efficiency were determined while five broilers from each treatment were assessed for carcass traits at the end of the feeding trial. Body weight gain, carcass yield and feed conversion efficiency was higher in broilers fed on the control (maize-based, without LTS) than on diets containing LTS; however, performance was similar between broilers on diets containing LTS. Although feed intake was higher – and feed conversion efficiency lower- for LTS diets, the cost of broiler production and carcass yield were not affected by the dietary level of inclusion of LTS but weight of breast and right limb were lower in birds fed on diets 2 and 3. Attainment of market weight by broilers fed on diets containing moderate-to-high levels of LTS in the grower-finisher phase, raises possibility for enhancing replacement of maize with LTS in commercial broiler feed production.