A note on nutritive value of blend of blood and ground maize cob for broiler chickens

Blend of blood and ground maize cob (BLOMC) was analysed and compared with wheat bran. Experiment was conducted on 300 14-day-old broiler chickens allocated to 5 dietary treatments, each consisting of 3 replicates. Birds were given diets containing 0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 g BLOMC/kg replacing equal amounts of wheat bran. Growth performance and carcass yield of birds fed diet containing BLOMC did not differ markedly from those on the control diet, except efficiency of feed utilization, which improved with inclusion of BLOMC in diet. There were neither health-related problems nor mortality due to addition of BLOMC to the diet. Dietary treatments did not have significant impact on organ weights, except gizzard weight, which was highest in birds fed on the diet which contained 120 g BLOMC/kg. Examination of heart, kidney, liver, spleen, lung and pancreas revealed no gross abnormalities from feeding of BLOMC. It was cheaper to produce broilers using BLOMC that using wheat bran