KRISHNA MURTHY ATTURI*, KALYAN CHAKRAVARTHY M. AND DHANALAKSHMI GUDURU
SHE & CS Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Yagantipalle, Kurnool Dist (Andhra Pradesh), India
Department of LPM, College of Veterinary Science, Gannavarm (Andhra Pradesh), India
*(e-mail : atturikrishna80@gmail.com)
(Received : 21 April 2020; Accepted : 30 June 2020)
SUMMARY
Hydroponic maize fodder is found as nutrient rich feed source for livestock and poultry. Under intensive system of broiler production, feeds account for 70-80% of the total cost of production. It was evident that inclusion of hydroponically grown cereal fodder in the poultry diet can reduce the cost on feeding in free range system. Present experiment was conducted to study the effect of inclusion of hydroponic maize fodder in the broiler poultry diet on growth rate and FCR. Day old broiler chicks were brooded together, given basal feed and vaccinated. At three weeks age, the chicks were divided into two groups. Group 1 was fed on 100% basal feed and group 2 fed on basal feed + 50 g hydroponic maize fodder. A low cost hydroponic fodder production devise was fabricated and utilized in the experiment for production of hydroponic maize fodder. 6.0 kg HMF was obtained from one kilogram of maize seed within 7 days without using any nutrients in the irrigated water. Nutritional profile of maize grain and fodder were analyzed using proximate analysis and found that The DM, CP, CF, EE, TA and NFE contents in HMF were 14.3 15.8, 12.62, 3.74, 3.27 and 64.57 respectively. Data on body weight, feed consumption and FCR was collected at weekly interval up to sixth week. The data was statistically analyzed using SPSS version 20. Body weight, Cumulative feed consumption and FCR in Group 1 and Group 2 were 2084.9±10.63 g, 3624±18.9 g, 1.74 and 2075.9±11.56 g, 3321±3.49 g, 1.60 respectively. The present study concluded that supplementation of hydroponic maize fodder in the broiler poultry diet reduce the feed cost by Rs. 10.36 per bird.
Key words:Hydroponic maize fodder, broiler, poultry diet