Cassava root meal levels in diets for free-range female broiler chickens

Abstract

The objective of this research was to evaluate the performance, carcass yield and cuts of free range female broiler chickens submitted to diets containing cassava root meal (CRM). We used 400 naked neck chicks female at one day-old line ISA S575-N, distributed in a completely randomized design with four treatments and four replicates of 25 birds. The treatments consisted of the inclusion of 0, 15, 30 and 45% of CRM in diet. The performance of the birds was evaluated in periods 1 to 28, 1 to 56 days and 1 to 84 days of age and carcass yield and cuts to 85 days of age. There was no difference during the evaluated periods. For the variables of yield, there was a difference in yield back (YB) and percentage of abdominal fat (AF), decrease linear with the increase of CRM (YB = 20.92859 – 0.01636x, r² = 0.35, AF = 2.73339 – 0.02779x, r² = 0.49). The CRM can be used in free range broiler chickens diets to 45%, without impairing yields performance of carcass and cuts.