Performance and internal organ quality of broiler chickens fed blood meal as a substitute for synthetic lysine

A study was conducted to establish the suitability of blood meal (BM) as substitute for synthetic lysine (SL) in broiler diets. There were five dietary groups, each containing 30 unsexed day old chicks of Anak strain, replicated three times with ten birds per replicate in completely randomized design (CRD). Diet 1, which served as control contained 1.0 gKg-1 SL and no BM. Diets 2, 3, 4 and 5 without SL contained 10, 20, 30 and 40 gKg-1 BM calculated to supply 0.7, 1.4, 2.1 and 2.8 gKg-1 dietary lysine in the same order. All diets were isonitrogenous (230 and 200 gKg-1) for the starter and finisher phases and isocaloric (11.90 and 12.30 MJME/kg) for both phases respectively. The study lasted 28 days for both phases and effects of the diets on growth, carcass yield and internal organ quality of the birds were studied. At the starter phase, differences in body weight and feed: gain ratio were not significant (p>0.05), while feed intake was lowered (p