Effect of Partial Dietary Substitution of Prickly Pear (Opuntia ficus indica L.) Seeds Meal on Growth Performance and Carcass Characteristics of Broiler Chicken

The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of partial feed substitution
with OFI meal on the growth performances and carcass characteristics of broiler chickens. One hundred and fifty 1-day-old broiler chicks (Arbor acres) were allocated into 5 groups with 3 replicates of 10 birds per group. The experimental groups received the diets substituted with 0 (control), 10% (B), 20% (C), 30% (D) and 40% (E) prickly pear seeds (PPS) meal of OFI during a 6-week duration divided into 4 dietary periods (starter diet, 0–12 days; grower diet, 13–33 days; finisher diet, 34–39 days; withdrawal diet, 40–45 days). At the end of the experiment, 5 birds from each sub-group were randomly selected and slaughtered, and the yield of the carcass segments was calculated. The growth performance of the broiler chickens seemed significantly affected (P < 0.001) by the PPS substitution level. The daily weight gain of the birds was exponential in the experimental groups. The results obtained indicate clearly that weight gain in the chickens fed treatments containing 10% PPS was significantly greater than in the chickens fed different treatments (20%, 30% and 40% PPS). Minimum feed intakes were observed in the birds with the diet substituted with 40% PPS. Feeding the birds with the substituted 10% PPS resulted in a significant increase (P < 0.001) in the weight of carcass and intestinal part at 45 days of age, when compared with the control group and the treated group. The results obtained under the conditions of this experiment showed that the partial dietary substitution of 10% PPS from Algeria can improve the growth performance and carcass yield in broiler chickens. Therefore, it is important to valorize the PPS by-product which would decrease the import invoice of animal feed, especially in broiler chickens.