Analysis of the inclusion of Cucurbita moschata on the productive parameters in broilers chicken

Abstract

The objective of the research was to evaluate the inclusion of Cucurbita moschata on the productive parameters of broilers such as final weight, feed consumption, weight gain, feed conversion and efficiency, carcass yield and feed costs. A totally randomized design with four treatments was used: 5 %, 10 % and 15 % of C. moschata that correspond to the partial replacement of the commercial balanced feed and a control, each one with 10 experimental units. The diet was implemented from day 22 to day 45. The analysis of variance was used for the treatment-effects and the Tukey test for comparing means with 5% of significance. Polynomial regression and the derivative of a quadratic function were used to determine the optimal level of C. moschata. The results of the ANOVA showed a similar behavior between the treatments and the control (p < 0.05). The optimal level of inclusion of C. moschata was 3.5 %, 3.2 % and 6.5 % for weight gain, feed conversion and consumption, respectively. The T3 presented the best cost for food with an average of $2.431.68. It is concluded that the inclusion of C. moschata in fattening chickens allows obtaining productive yields similar to conventional feeding with commercial balanced products at a lower cost.