The study was conducted to assess the effect of replating conventional enery and protein supplements by coarse cereals (sorghum and ragi) and unconventional protein supplements (niger and seasame cakes) on the performance of starter chicks. 150 chicks of identical body weight with three replicates of ten chicks each were assigned to five dietary treatments. The positive and negative control, contained maize soybean meal diet with or without fishmeal (T1 and T2). In rest of the three diets, soybean meal was replaced by equal combinations of niger and sesame cake at 50%, 60% and 70% level (T3, T4 and T5). 70% Maize was replaced by equal proportion of sorghum and ragi in these 3 diets. All the diets were iso-nitrogenous and iso-caloric.
The replacement of soybean meal by sesame and niger seed cakes (1:1) at 50%, 60% and 70% level had no significant effect on the body weight gain of chicks. However, there was significant (P<0.05) reduction in their feed intake. Feed conversion efficiency and performance index in these chicks were better. Cost of feeding chicks receiving diet containing sesame meal and niger meal at 50% level instead of soybean meal was significantly (P<0.05) low followed by those receiving 60 and 70% of these meals. Inclusion of sesame and niger meal (50 to 70%) and coarse cereal grains improved (P<0.05) the retention of most of the nutrients. It was concluded that coarse cereal grains, niger and seasame meal can effectively replace maize and soybean meal without any adverse effert on the performance of starter chicks.
Soybean meal, Niger meal, Sesame meal, Coarse cereal grains, Performance, Starter chicks
