Abstract:
Broiler chicken plays an important role to meet the protein requirement of
the growing population with low production cost. The study aimed to
enhance broiler chicken weight gain using alternative feed, specifically dry
Azolla supplement to contribute the sustainable feeding management. 90
chicks from Cobb-500 breed were randomly and equally divided into two
groups with three replicates and each consisting of 15 chicks for the
experiment. One group of chicks was given commercial feed (T1) and the
second group was fed with feed containing 90% commercial feed and 10%
of dry Azolla (T2). The feeding trial was conducted for eight weeks and the
data were analysed statistically. The results on weight gain showed that
weekly mean weight gain between T1 (54.50±44.32g) and T2
(54.67±43.36g) was not significantly different (p<0.05) throughout the
feeding trial. Similarly, weekly mean FCR between T1 (1.48±0.20) and T2
(1.46±0.19) was not significantly different (p<0.05). The results on sensory
evaluation of cooked broiler meat showed that chicken meat T2 group had a
greater appearance (7.03±0.85), colour (7.16±1.01), odour (6.8±1.42),
texture (7±7.17), tender (6.73±1.41), delicious (6.6±1.42), firmness
(6.13±1.79), uniformity (6.86±1.13) and overall acceptability (6.9±1.51)
than T1 group. Having the findings on the positive effects on sensory meat
quality of the birds fed with the Azolla mixed feed (T2), it is concluded that
the Azolla can be promoted in feeding broiler chickens even though no
effects were found on weight gain and FCR. It is recommended that further
studies are needed on the cost effectiveness of the Azolla feeding.
