Effect of Graded Levels of Sesame Stem Inclusion on Performance Characteristics of Broiler Chickens

This study was conducted to investigate the potential of sesame (Sesamum indicum) stem, an agricultural byproduct, as a sustainable feed additive on performance characteristics of broiler chickens. 120-day-old ROSS 308 broiler chickens (N=120) were assigned to four (4) dietary treatments of T+ (Control: Inclusion of 0.15g/kg of BHA and 0.3g/kg of Antibiotics), T- (Control: 100% conventional feed), T1 (25kg of conventional feed + 0.25g/kg of Sesame stem), T2 (25kg of conventional feed + 0.5g/kg of Sesame stem), with six (6) replicate and five (5) birds per replicate for six (6). At the end of the feeding trial (six weeks) performance characteristics such as feed intake, weight gain, and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were observed that broilers in the TO+( Butylated Hydroxy Anisole) group exhibited the highest weight gain (2345.7 g). The TO- (Basal diet) group achieved moderate weight gain (2170.7 g), which was still better than T1 and T2, whose values were statistically similar at 1940.7 g and 1939.0 g, respectively. Feed intake followed a similar pattern, with TO+ and TO- groups consuming significantly more feed (5088.8 g and 4878.7 g, respectively) compared to T1 (4264.5 g) and T2 (4146.9 g). However, T2 recorded the best FCR indicating a better feed efficiency despite its reduced feed intake. Key word; Sesame indicum, feed intake, weight gain, and feed conversion ratio (FCR)