EFFECT OF DIETARY LEVELS OF TOASTED WATERMELON (CITRULLUS LANATUS, THUMB) SEED MEAL FOR SOYABEAN ON CARCASS AND INTERNAL ORGAN CHARACTERISTICS OF BROILER CHICKENS

A seven-week feeding trial was conducted with two hundred unsexed day-old Anak broilers was carried out to evaluate the effect of graded levels of toasted watermelon seed (WMSF) on carcass and internal organ characteristics of broilers. The proximate composition showed that toasted watermelon seed is rich in crude protein (34.78%) and ether extract (24.90%). Five experimental diets were formulated in which toasted WMSF replaced soyabean at 0, 10, 20, 30 and 40% tagged as diets 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 respectively for both starter and finisher rations. The day-old chicks were randomly allotted to the dietary treatments with four replications each and 10 birds per replicate in a completely randomized design (CRD). At the end of the experiment two birds per replicate were randomly selected for carcass yield and organ characteristics. Most of carcass parameters measured were not affected except for eviscerated weight (1.18-1.56kg; P<0.05), heart weight, large intestine length and pancreas weight (P<0.01) as well as the weights of lungs, liver, kidney, large intestine and gizzard (P<0.01), though no definite pattern was observed. It can be concluded that inclusion of toasted WMSF in broiler diets at 30% has no adverse effects on the carcass yield and organ characteristics.