Abstract:
Pouteria campechiana (Canistel) is an under-utilized tree fruit grown naturally in many tropical and sub-tropical
regions. Objective of this study was to determine the effects of dietary Canistel fruit meal (CFM) on growth and
carcass parameters of 3-6 week old broiler chicken. Ninety broiler chicks in 30 pens, were fed one of the five isoproteonic broiler finisher diets containing either 0 (control), 5, 10, 15 and 20% of CFM from day 21 to 42. The
dietary level of CFM had no significant (P>0.05) effects on final live weight on day 42, weight gain from day 21 -42,
water intake, carcass weight and dressing percentage. However, feed conversion ratio (FCR) of the birds given
control diet was significantly lower than that of the birds given diets with CFM. The weights of the visceral organs
and the length of the small intestine in relation to empty carcass weight were not significantly different among
treatments. The abdominal fat pad weight of the birds given 10%CFM was significantly lower than that of the
birds given diet without CFM. It was concluded that the up to 20%CFM can be included in broiler finisher diets
without any adverse effects on health, mortality, growth and carcass parameters.
