Performances and haematological profile of broilers fed fermented dried cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz).

The effect of feeding fermented dried cassava (gathot) on the performances and haematological profile of broilers was investigated. There were four dietary treatments arranged in a completely randomized design, i.e. control diet and diets containing 25, 50 or 100 g/kg gathot. The birds were provided with the treatment diets ad libitum from 8 to 35 days of age. Body weight, feed intake and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were determined weekly. At day 32, the birds were blood sampled, sacrificed and immediately the internal organs and abdominal fat were removed and weighed. Feeding gathot at various levels did not affect (P > 0.05) the growth and FCR, but tended (P = 0.09) to reduce the feed cost per kilogramme live weight gain of broilers. The dietary treatments did not cause toxicological effect on broilers, indicated by the values of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) that were not different from those in the control diet. Dietary inclusion of gathot lowered heterophils to lymphocytes ratio (H/L ratio) (P < 0.05) and albumin to globulin ratio (A/G ratio) (P = 0.14) of broilers as compared to the control diet. Total triglyceride was lower (P < 0.05) in the serum of broilers fed diets containing 5 and 10 % of gathot, when compared with that in the control diet. The treatments resulted in reduced abdominal fat deposition in broilers. In conclusion, dietary inclusion of gathot at up to 10 % had no negative impact on the growth performance of broilers. Feeding gathot has potential to improve the health and physiological stress responses as well as reduce body fat deposition in broilers.