Determination of Nutritional Value of Millet and Animal Fat (Tallow) for Broiler Chickens

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the nutritional value of millet and tallow for broiler chickens. In the first experiment, the nitrogen corrected apparent metabolizable energy (AMEn) of millet and tallow were determined by the method of Sibbald. In the second experiment, a 3×5 factorial experiment was designed to evaluate the effects of 3 levels of tallow and 5 levels of substitution of corn with millet in broiler diets. Animal fat was included in the diets at levels of 0%, 3% and 6% and millet was replaced for corn at levels of 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%. Each diet was tested in 4 replicates including 12 chicks per replicate. Live body weights, feed consumptions and feed conversion ratios were determined weekly for all replicates. The AMEn of unground, ground, screened and ground and tallow were 3260, 3204, 3237 and 8166 Kcall/kg, respectively. Replacement of corn by millet at all levels did not have any adverse effect on body weight, feed consumption and feed conversion ratio at 56th day of age. Body weights, feed consumptions and feed conversion ratios were significantly increased (p<0.05) with increasing animal fat. The results indicated that millet has high energy value and appears to be at least equal to corn in promoting weight gains in broiler chickens.