EFFECT OF DIETARY CRUDE PROTEIN ON AMMONIA EMISSION, BLOOD PROFILE AND PRODUCTION PERFORMANCE OF BROILER CHICKENS

The study investigates the relationship between dietary factors, ammonia emission, blood profile, and overall production performance in broiler chickens to optimize efficiency and meet the global demand for chicken meat. A total of 234 Day-Old Lohman Meat broiler chicks were randomly divided into three dietary treatments: high CP (23% in starter, 22% in grower), medium CP (21% in starter, 20% in grower), and low CP (19% in starter, 18% in grower) with three replicates per treatment and 26 birds in each replicate. The results showed significant differences in body weight gain and feed consumption but not in feed conversion ratio over four weeks, with the low CP group exhibiting the lowest ammonia emissions. The dressing percentage and carcass weight, except for thigh weight, varied significantly (P˂0.05) among treatments, with the high CP group exhibiting the highest weights in the breast, wing, back, and drumstick. Blood parameters, including haemoglobin, WBC, RBC, neutrophils, and lymphocytes were affected but no significant differences (P˃0.05) were observed in platelet count, monocyte count, eosinophil count, PCV and MCV across treatments. The economic impact analysis showed significant differences (P˂0.05) in total expenditure and receipts per bird, with the high CP group showing higher values. However, no significant variations (P˃0.05) in profit per bird or benefit-cost ratio were observed among the treatments. To maximize benefits from dietary crude protein utilization and reduce ammonia levels, broilers can be fed diets with lower crude protein content, specifically 19% in starter and 18% in grower stages.