Effects of Replacement of Maize with Pearl Millet on Laying Performance of Aravali Breed of Chicken
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48165/ijvsbt.22.3.08Keywords:
Aravali, Bajra, Economics, Egg production, Maize replacement.Abstract
The present experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of replacement of maize with bajra on the laying performance, feed efficiency, economics and livability of Aravali breed of chicken. A total of 200 sixteen-week-old pullets were randomly allotted to five dietary treatments with eight replicates of five birds each. The treatments consisted of a basal maize-based diet (T1) and diets in which maize was replaced with bajra at 20% (T2), 40% (T3), 60% (T4) and 80% (T5) levels. The results revealed that body weight at 16th and 40th weeks of age, age at first egg, total and daily feed intake, feed consumption per dozen eggs, egg number, hen-day and hen-housed egg production and egg weight were not significantly affected by dietary treatments. However, numerically higher body weight was observed in T3, while birds in T4 attained age at first egg earlier and exhibited superior egg production parameters, including total egg number, hen-day and hen-housed egg production. Feed intake and feed consumption per dozen eggs were numerically lower in T4, indicating improved feed utilization. Economic analysis showed that the highest return over feed cost was obtained with 20% maize replacement (T2), whereas a negative return was observed at the 80% replacement level (T5). Livability remained high and comparable across treatments, ranging from 92.50 to 97.50%. Overall, the findings suggest that maize can be safely replaced with bajra up to 60% in layer diets without adverse effects on performance, while a 20% replacement level is economically most advantageous in Aravali breed of chickens.
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