<b>Partial substitution of the corn and soybean for sorghum and expander cottonseed meal in broilers’ rations</b> - DOI: 10.4025/actascianimsci.v29i2.217

Abstract

Partial substitution of the corn and soybean for sorghum and expander cottonseed meal in broilers’ rations. The experiment aimed to evaluate the use of sorghum (50%) and the expander cottonseed meal (0; 13.33; 26.66; 39.99%) in substitution to the corn and the protein of the soybean meal in broilers’ rations. An experiment was carried out using 300 male broiler chicks, distributed in a randomized arrangement with five treatments and five repetitions of 12 birds per parcel. The analyzed variables were ration consumption (RC), weight gain (WG), feed conversion (FC) and characteristics of carcass. RC and WG did not present any statistical differences (p > 0.05) between the controlled treatment and the second treatment, except for FC during the period of 22 to 42 days. As for WG, significant statistical differences were found (p < 0.05) between the second treatment in relation to the others, particularly during the phase from 8 to 21 days. For RC, there was a significant effect (p < 0.05) on the phases from 22 to 42 and from 8 to 42 days, and FC in all periods. Regarding the carcass characteristics, no significant differences were found (p > 0.05) for all the evaluated parameters. Both sorghum and the expander cottonseed meal in substitution to the corn and the soybean meal are possible, up to 13.31%, to improve the feed conversion.