Nutrient retention of yellow corn hybrids and biochemical parameters in male sasso chickens

Corn is popular due to its high energy value among cereals. This quality is particularly sensitive and appreciated in poultry feed. The objective of this study was to evaluate the nutritional retention of three yellow maize hybrids and biochemical parameters in Sasso chicken to help improve poultry rations in Togo. A completely randomized experimental design with four treatments and 16 replicates, each having one bird housed individually, was used. A total of 64, twelve weeks old (12) male sasso broilers with an average live weight of 1850 g were subjected to in vivo feeding for seven days. Three yellow maize hybrids (K5, K11 and Samaz 52) and a local variety (Sotubaka as control) were tested. The nonparametric Kruskall Wallis test was carried out in the R 3.5.1 software environment to assess the effect of corn types on nutrient retention. The results showed that the nutrient retention of organic matter (OM) of the three hybrids was 89.20± 2.33% for K5, 88.26±1.49% for Samaz 52, 91.37±0.67% for K11, and 83.69±2.03% for the local variety Sotubaka. Crude protein and total ash, respectively 68.32±4.55% and 36.72±1.79% of the K5 hybrid, were better digested by the chickens relative to the other varieties. The Fat of the K11 hybrid (84.37±1.56%) was better used by the birds, while the Sotubaka variety had the most (77.16±4.01 %) digestible crude fiber. Post-feeding total serum protein was affected by corn type (P<0.0001), with higher values (45.25 g/L) in chickens fed the K5 hybrid. The K11 hybrid and the Sotubaka variety resulted in the lowest cholesterol levels compared to the K5 and Samaz 52 hybrids (P<0.0001). This study shows that K5, K11 and Samaz 52 hybrids could be replacements for the local variety of corn in formulating a diet for Sasso chickens.