Effects of Processing Methods of Jatropha curcas Seed Meal on Growth Performance and Blood Profile of Broiler Finisher Chickens

Two hundred Anak-2000 day old chicks were used to evaluate the effects of differently processed Jatropha curcas seed meal on growth performance, carcass characteristics, internal weight organ, haematological and biochemical indices of broiler chickens. Five experimental diets were formulated containing 0% Jatropha seed meal, 10% fermented Jatropha seed meal (FJM), 10% boiled Jatropha seed meal (BJM), 10% toasted Jatropha seed meal (TJM), and 10% soaked Jatropha seed meal (SJM) and were designated as T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5 respectively. The chicks were randomly allotted to five dietary treatments consisting of four replication of ten birds per replicate in a completely randomized design (CRD).The result of the anti-nutritional factors (ANFs) determined were higher in in the raw Jatropha seed meal. Crude protein (CP) content of raw, soaked, fermented, boiled and toasted Jatropha curcas seed meal is 32.61, 29.35, 42.38, 38.62 and 29.60% respectively. The ether extracts (EE and crude fibre (CF) values ranged from 4.36 – 34.21% and 2.10 – 11.28% respectively. Among the processing methods employed, fermentation and toasting recorded higher reduction in the concentration of these anti-nutritional factors. The result of all the growth parameters measured were significantly (P<0.05) affected by the processing methods except the initial weight. The performance of broiler birds on differently processed Jatropha seed meal was lower than those on the control diet. The parameters evaluated for carcass weight were significantly (P<0.05) higher in birds fed control diet There was no definite pattern in carcass characteristics however, birds fed the control diet, FJM and BJM were similar. The weights of kidney, liver and lungs showed significant differences (p<0.05) among processing methods. The haematogical parameters did not show significant (P>0.05) difference across the treatment groups except for PCV, MCH and WBC. It was concluded from the results that broiler birds can be fed with 10% inclusion level of fermented Jatropha seed meal.