3. Evaluating the Effects of Dried Orange and Lemon Peel on Growth Performance and Meat Quality of Broilers

Abstract

The study’s goal was to assess the effects of dietary inclusion of dried orange peel (DOP) and dried lemon peel (DLP) on broiler growth performance and meat quality. Five dietary treatments namely basal diet (control); basal diet plus 0.5% DOP; basal diet plus 0.5% DLP; basal diet plus 1.0% DOP and basal diet plus 1.0% DLP were given to 200 one-day-old broiler chicks for 35 days. The results showed that dietary supplementation with 0.5% DLP, 1.0% DOP, and 1.0% DLP significantly increased broiler body weight gain and feed conversion ratio in comparison to the control and 0.5% DOP supplemented groups (P<0.05). The dressing percentage in all supplemented groups was significantly greater, while proportion of breast meat was higher in the 0.5% DLP, 1.0% DOP, and 1.0% DLP supplemented groups (P<0.05). The relative weight of the spleen was significantly higher and that of abdominal fat was lower in the 0.5% and 1.0% DLP supplemented groups (P<0.05). The control group had the highest net profit per broiler followed by the 1.0 % DLP supplemented group. As a conclusion, DOP and DLP can be employed as possible feed additives in broiler diet at a concentration of up to 1% to improve broiler growth performance, meat yield without affecting the profitability.