Effect of using sorghum and finger millet instead of maize along with oil seed meals on the performance of White leghorn starter chicken

A study was undertaken using 150, day old Babcock BV - 300 White leghorn chicks of identical body weights to see the effect of coarse cereals on the performance of starter chicken. These chicks were randomly distributed into five dietary treatments. Control diet 1 (T1) was formulated using maize, de-oiled rice polish, soybean meal, fish meal, minerals and vitamin supplements. While control diet 2 (T2) was similar to T1 except that it was without fish meal. In rest of the three diets, maize was replaced with equal proportion of sorghum and ragi at 70%, 85% and 100% levels (T3, T4 and T5). In all these three diets, soybean meal was replaced at 70% level with equal proportion of niger and sesame cake. All these diets were iso-nitrogenous and iso-caloric. Studies indicated that use of sorghum and finger millet in equal proportion instead of maize at 70%, 85% and 100% level had no significant effect on the weight gain of starter chickens. However, it reduced their feed intake significantly. As a result there was improvement in the feed utilization and performance index of chickens. The feeding cost of chickens raised on diet containing coarse cereals instead of maize (T5) was significantly lower followed by those receiving diets containing 85% or 70% of these coarse cereals instead of maize (T3, T4). It was concluded that maize can be replaced completely using sorghum and finger millet in equal proportion in the starter diets.