Trop Anim Health Prod (2010) 42:687–695
DOI 10.1007/s11250-009-9476-7
Effects of different levels of dried sweet potato
(Ipomoea batatas) leaves inclusion in finisher ration
on feed intake, growth, and carcass yield performance
of Ross broiler chicks
Berhan Tamir & Wude Tsega
Accepted: 16 October 2009 / Published online: 29 October 2009
# Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2009
Abstract The effect of supplementation with increas-
ing levels of dried leaves of sweet potato (Ipomoea
batatas) on feed intake, body weight gain, and carcass
yield characteristics of finisher Ross broiler chicks
was studied at Haramaya University, Ethiopia. Three
hundred Ross broiler chicks aging 29 days and
weighing 540±5.28 g (mean±SD) were randomly
distributed to 15 pens, each with 20 chicks, represent-
ing five treatment rations each with three replications.
Dietary treatments consisted of inclusions of dried
leaves of sweet potato at levels of 0, 50, 100, 150, and
200 g/kg DM for treatments T1, T2, T3, T4, and T5,
respectively. The experiment lasted for 28 days,
during which, dry matter intake (DMI), body weight
gain, and feed conversion efficiency; carcass yield
characteristics; and weights and lengths of different
parts of gastrointestinal tract were measured. Data were
subjected to statistical analysis using SAS (1998).
Inclusion of dried leaves of sweet potato at the level of
200 g/kg DM resulted in lower (P<0.01) daily DMI as
compared to chicks in control diet (T1). The daily body
B. Tamir (*)
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Addis Ababa University,
P.O. Box 34, Debre Zeit, Ethiopia
e-mail: berhantamir@yahoo.com
W. Tsega
Andassa Agricultural Research Center,
Andassa, Ethiopia
weight gain declined (P<0.01) when the level of dried
leaves of sweet potato in the diet was 150 and 200 g/kg
DM. Inclusion of dried leaves of sweet potato up to
100 g/kg DM did not affect (P>0.05) eviscerated
carcass weight, and weights of drumstick with thigh
and breast meat were not affected (P>0.05) by
inclusion of dried leaves of sweet potato up to 150 g/kg
DM. The results of this study revealed that inclusion of
dried leaves of sweet potato up to 100 g/kg DM in the
finisher ration might be considered as the optimum level
of supplementation when chickens are sold on live
weight basis, but if birds are sold on eviscerated carcass
weight basis, inclusion up to 150 g/kg DM might be
economically feasible as it produced higher carcass
yield components.
Keywords Body weight gain . Carcass yield
characteristics . Dried leaves of sweet potato .
Feed intake . Finisher broiler chicks
Abbreviations
CF Crude fiber
CP Crude protein
CPI Crude protein intake
DM Dry matter
DMI Dry matter intake
EE Ether extract
GIT Gastrointestinal tract
MEI Metabolizable energy intake
688
Introduction
Rapid increase in number, shorter generation inter-
vals, and lifespan make poultry efficient converters of
plant protein to animal protein. Farmyard poultry
production is the oldest and most common venture in
Ethiopia, which is endowed with a large population of
indigenous chicken, almost all of which are owned
and managed by smallholder farmers (Mammo et al.
2008). The per capita poultry meat yield in Ethiopia is
generally low, which undoubtedly calls for the
expansion of commercial poultry production and for
improvement of small-scale poultry production sys-
tem at the farmer's level with improved poultry
breeds.
However, the availability of feed ingredients is one
of the greatest challenges to the expansion of poultry
enterprises. Commercial broiler feed is expensive and
out of the reach of the smallholder farmers. The cost
of conventional feedstuffs such as maize and protein
concentrates of plant origin such as agro-industrial
by-products are increasing, and they are generally less
available (Etalem et al. 2009). Thus, it is necessary to
look for alternative feedstuffs, which are locally
available, cheap, and nutritionally adequate to substi-
tute the conventional feedstuffs to help resource poor
farmers cut down their production cost and thereby
improve the efficiency of the poultry production.
The use of agricultural by-products such as dried
leaves of sweet potato in poultry nutrition represents
valuable means of an indirect production of food from
waste. Dried leaves of sweet potato are characterized
by moderate nutrient composition with a great
potential as a source of energy in broiler diets
(EIBoushy and Vanderpoel 2000). Sweet potato
leaves have been traditionally used for other purposes
or even wasted, but recently, they have been used to
replace up to 20% maize in broiler diets (Teguia et al.
1997). The crude protein (CP) content of sweet potato
leaves ranges from 24–29% of DM (Thuy and Ogle
2004), which makes it a good candidate as a source of
protein supplement than energy supplement.
Even though sweet potato is grown in many parts
of Ethiopia for tuber production, its by-products are
commonly fed to ruminant stock or left on the field
during defoliation as well as at tuber harvesting.
Information on feeding value of the leaves of sweet
potato in the diets of broiler chicks in Ethiopia is
generally inadequate. It is imperative to study the
Trop Anim Health Prod (2010) 42:687–695
effect of dried leaves of sweet potato in the diets of
finisher broiler chicks with the objective of assessing
the effects of increasing levels of dried leaves of
sweet potato on feed intake, growth rate, and carcass
yield characteristics of Ross finisher broilers chicks.
Materials and methods
Experimental site and experimental rations
The experiment was conducted at Poultry Farm of
Haramaya University, located at 505 km East of
Addis Ababa, at an altitude of 1,980 m.a.s.l, 42°3′E
and 9°26′N. The average annual rainfall is 780 mm,
and average minimum and maximum temperatures
range between 8.25°C and 23.4°C, respectively (AUA
1998).
Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), Kubato variety
was grown at Horticultural Crops Research Field of
Haramaya University. The planted vine length was 30
to 60 cm with 100 cm between ridges and 30 cm
between plants. It was grown for 110 days undertak-
ing all necessary agronomic management practices.
When the tuber matured for human consumption, the
leaves of sweet potato were cut and sun dried for 2 to
3 days on plastic sheet lying on concrete floor. The
dried leaves were collected in sacks and taken to the
Haramaya University livestock feed processing plant
and ground to pass through 7 mm mesh screen for
mixing with other ingredients.
The five-broiler finisher rations representing treat-
ments were formulated on an iso-nitrogenous and iso-
caloric basis containing 20% CP and 3,200 kcal ME/kg
DM, respectively, in order to meet the nutrient
requirements of broiler finishers.
Experimental chicks, experimental design,
and treatments
A total of 300 Ross finisher broilers at the age of
29 days and average body weight of 540±5.28 g were
randomly distributed into five dietary treatments
replicated thrice each with 20 chicks in a completely
randomized design. The treatment rations were
formulated containing dried leaves of sweet potato
at levels of 0, 50, 100, 150, and 200 g/kg DM,
representing T1, T2, T3, T4, and T5, respectively, and
birds were fed ad libitum offering at the daily rate of
Trop Anim Health Prod (2010) 42:687–695
120 g DM per kg body weight. Feed was offered
twice a day at 0800 and 1700 hours throughout the
experimental period in horizontal feeders, and water
was provided in plastic fountains, and water was
available at all times. The finisher feeding experiment
lasted for 28 days.
The birds were kept in 1.5×1.65 m wire-mesh
partitioned on deep litter housing, which was covered
with sawdust litter material of 10 cm depth. The pens
were properly cleaned, disinfected, well ventilated,
and electrically heated using 250 W infrared light
bulbs before the arrival of the chicks. The wet litter
was changed with dry and clean sawdust whenever
necessary. The chicks were vaccinated against new
castle disease at day7 and day25 through the ocular
route, whereby other health precautions and disease
control measures were taken throughout the study
period.
Chemical analysis
All samples of feed ingredients, feed offered, and
refused were analyzed for dry matter (DM), CP, ether
extract (EE), crude fiber (CF), and ash using the
Weende or proximate analysis method of the AOAC
(1990). Calcium was determined by atomic absorp-
tion spectrometer. The analysis of all samples was
done in the nutrition laboratory of the National
Veterinary Institute, Debre-Zeit, Ethiopia. Metaboliz-
able energy (ME) of the experimental diets was
calculated by indirect method according to Wiseman
(1987) as follows: ME (kcal/kg DM)=3,951+54.4
EE-88.7CF-40.80 Ash. The feed offered and refused
were weighed daily, and the DM content was
determined by drying sub-samples at 105°C to
constant weight.
Nutrient intake, body weight change, and feed
conversion efficiency
The dry matter intake (DMI) was computed by
difference between feed offered and refused. The
daily CP and ME intakes were calculated by
multiplying the CP and ME contents of the feeds by
average daily feed intakes of the respective treatment.
Birds were weighed individually at weekly inter-
vals with sensitive balance, and mean daily body
weight gain of the chicks was computed for each
treatment.
689
The mean feed, CP, and energy conversion
efficiencies were computed by dividing the respective
mean daily intakes to the mean daily weight gain.
Carcass yield characteristics
At the end of the feeding trial, 12 randomly selected
birds from each treatment were starved for 12 h and
slaughtered after taking the pre-slaughter body
weights. After slaughtering, the birds were de-
feathered and carcass was dressed as described by
(Bartov 1998). Eviscerated carcass weight was deter-
mined after removing blood, feather, lower leg, head,
heart, liver, gizzard, kidney, lung, pancreas, crop,
proventriculus, small intestine and large intestine,
cecum, and urogenital tracts. The eviscerated percent-
age was determined as the proportion of the eviscerated
weight and slaughter weight multiplied by 100.
Abdominal fat was determined by weighing the fat
trimmed from proventriculus up to cloaca. The edible
offal (giblets), which included the heart, liver, and
gizzard, were weighed after separating from the viscera.
The total weight and length of total gastrointestinal tract
(GIT), gizzard weight, weight and length of small
intestine, large intestine, and ceca were measured using
a centimeter tape and sensitive balance.
Data analysis
Data collected during the study period were subjected
to statistical analysis using SAS (2002). When the
analysis of variance revealed the existence of signif-
icant differences between treatments then, least
significance difference method was used to locate
the treatment means that were significantly different.
Correlation and regression analysis was done to test
the relationship between feed conversion efficiency,
ME conversion efficiency, CP conversion efficiency,
eviscerated carcass and abdominal fat weight, and the
levels of dried leaves of sweet potato.
Results
Feed chemical composition
The results of laboratory chemical analysis of feed
ingredients used in formulation of the ration are
shown in Table 1. The CP and energy contents of
690 Trop Anim Health Prod (2010) 42:687–695

Table 1 Chemical compo-

sition of feed ingredients Composition Ingredient
used for ration formulation
Dried leaves of sweet potato Peanut cake Soybean Maize Wheat short

DM (g/kg) 910 940 942 904 905

CP (g/kg DM) 250 442 361 101 197
CF (g/kg DM) 84 157 63 43 52
EE (g/kg DM) 34 78 197 35 53
Ash (g/kg DM) 132 50 49 23 43
DM dry matter, CP crude NFE (g/kg DM) 501 272 331 790 640
protein, CF crude fiber, EE
ether extract, NFE ME kcal/kg DM 2,672 2,677 4,022 3,430 3,361
nitrogen-free extractives, Ca (g/kg DM) 21 2 3 0.3 0.8
ME metabolizable energy, P (g/kg DM) 3 10 8 4 10
Ca calcium, P phosphorus

dried leaves of sweet potato were 250 g and The CP and ME contents of the treatment diets
2,672 ME kcal/kg DM, respectively. Thus, dried were comparable throughout the inclusion levels
leaves of sweet potato could be considered as a good (Table 2). Increasing levels of dried leaves of sweet
source of both protein and energy. The EE content of potato did affect CP and ME contents of the diets.
dried leaves of sweet potato indicated its potential to The ash and CF contents did not vary greatly with
be used as a source of energy. Dried leaves of sweet level of dried leaves of sweet potato, but the EE
potato contained 84 g/kg DM CF, 21 g/kg DM Ca, seemed to decline with the level of dried leaves of
3 g/kg DM P, and 132 g/kg DM Ash. sweet potato.
Table 2 Ingredient propor-
tions and chemical Ingredient (g/kg DM) Treatment
composition of treatment
rations T1 T2 T3 T4 T5

Dried leaves of sweet potato 0 50 100 150 200

Maize 471 447 436 425 432
Wheat short 250 240 230 210 172
Peanut cake 160 146 122 111 100
Full fat soybean 100 98 93 85 77
Dicalcium phosphate 3 3 3 3 3
Limestone 8 8 8 8 8
T1 was treatment 1 (control Salt 5 5 5 5 5
group) or chicks that were Mineral and vitamin premix 3 3 3 3 3
fed with a ration that did not Total 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000
contain sweet potato leaves;
T2, T3, T4, and T5 were Composition
treatments 2, 3, 4, and 5, DM (g/kg) 915 913 912 912 911
respectively (they were CP (g/kg DM) 200 201 201 202 201
chicks whose rations were
CF (g/kg DM) 81 81 81 80 77
supplemented with 50, 100,
150, and 200 g/kg DM EE (g/kg DM) 64 60 60 58 51
sweet potato leaves, Ash (g/kg DM) 63 63 67 73 68
respectively). NFE (g/kg DM) 554 497 598 577 631
DM dry matter, CP crude ME kcal/kg DM 3,214 3,210 3,202 3,199 3,193
protein, CF crude fiber, EE
ether extract, NFE nitrogen ME:CP ratio 161 160 159 158 159
free extractives, ME Ca (g/kg DM) 6.7 7.9 6.7 7.2 6.9
metabolizable energy, P (g/kg DM) 5.3 4.1 4.9 4.2 4.6
Ca calcium, P phosphorus
Trop Anim Health Prod (2010) 42:687–695 691

Dry matter and nutrient intake
Inclusion of dried leaves of sweet potato up to the
level of 150 g/kg DM resulted in similar daily DMI as
the chicks on the control diet (Table 3), but the
inclusion of dried leaves of sweet potato at 200 g/kg
DM resulted in significantly (P<0.01) reduced daily
total DMI but increased the daily DMI per kg body
weight. Levels of dried leaves of sweet potato did not
affect the daily CP intake and CP intake per kg body
weight. Inclusion of dried leaves of sweet potato at
the level of 200 g/kg DM significantly (P<0.01)
reduced the daily ME intake and its intake per kg
body weight.
Body weight change, feed, and nutrient conversion
efficiency
There was no significant (P>0.05) difference in initial
body weight of finisher chicks between different
treatments. Final body weight and daily body weight
gain of birds increased with levels of dried leaves of
sweet potato up to 100 g/kg DM (Table 3), but the
inclusion of dried leaves of sweet potato at the levels
of 150 and 200 g/kg DM resulted in a significant
(P<0.01) reduction in body weight gain than birds on
the control diet.
Feed conversion efficiency expressed, as the amount
of feed required per unit of body weight gain on DM
basis, was not affected by the inclusion of dried leaves
of sweet potato up to the level of 100 g/kg DM but
deteriorated significantly (P<0.01) at higher levels of
inclusion (Table 3). Significantly (P<0.01) lower DMI
per unit body weight gain was required for the birds on
diets containing dried leaves of sweet potato at 50 and
100 g/kg DM.
The CP and ME conversion efficiency was higher
(P<0.01) for chicks on 200 g/kg DM inclusion of
dried leaves of sweet potato (Table 3). Chicks on
rations containing 200 g/kg DM dried leaves of sweet
potato required significantly (P<0.01) higher CP and
ME per unit body weight gain than birds consumed
diets containing dried leaves of sweet potato at 50 and
100 g/kg DM.
The amount of feed required per unit body weight
increased as the level of dried leaves of sweet potato
increased. There was direct positive linear relation-
ship and strong correlation between the amounts of
feed, CP and metabolizable energy required per unit
body weight gain, and the levels of dried leaves of
sweet potato inclusion. The significant (P<0.01)
variations of 82% in feed conversion efficiency and
metabolizable energy conversion efficiency and 84%
in CP conversion efficiency were accounted for by the
linear function of the inclusion levels of dried leaves
of sweet potato. The linear response of feed conver-
sion efficiency, CP conversion efficiency, and metab-
olizable energy conversion efficiency with the
inclusion levels of dried leaves of sweet potato
between 0 and 200 g/kg DM was significant at P<
0.05 and P<0.001. Feed, metabolizable energy, and
CP conversion efficiency increased with the levels of

Table 3 Daily dry matter intake and body weight as affected by inclusion of different levels of dried leaves of sweet potato in finisher
rations

Parameter Treatment SEM

T1 T2 T3 T4 T5

Feed intake (g/d) 106 103 101 98 97 3.6

Initial BW (g) 529 545 531 539 556 5.3
Final BW (g) 1577 a 1553 a 1481 a 1325 ab 1175 b 45.6
Weight gain (g/d) 37 a 36 a 34 a 28 ab 22 b 6.4
FCE 2.83 b 2.87 b 2.98 b 3.51 ab 4.38 a 0.656

Means with different lowercase letters in a row are significantly different at (P<0.01)
T1 was treatment 1 (control group) or chicks that were fed with a ration that did not contain sweet potato leaves; T2, T3, T4, and T5
were treatments 2, 3, 4, and 5, respectively (they were chicks whose rations were supplemented with 50, 100, 150, and 200 g/kg DM
sweet potato leaves, respectively)
SEM standard error of mean, DM dry matter, CP crude protein, ME metabolizable energy, BW body weight, FCE feed conversion
efficiency
692 Trop Anim Health Prod (2010) 42:687–695

dried leaves of sweet potato, which indicated that the
feed is less efficiently used at higher levels of dried
leaves of sweet potato inclusion.
The results of this study indicated the potential of
dried leaves of sweet potato to provide adequate
energy and protein for optimum growth and feed
efficiency when incorporated into the finisher chicks
ration up to the level of 100–150 g/kg DM.
birds supplemented with 200 g/kg DM dried leaves of
sweet potato exhibited significantly (P<0.01) less
drumstick-thigh and breast meat weights than birds on
the control diet. Birds consuming diets containing
dried leaves of sweet potato up to the level of 100 g/kg
DM accumulated more amounts of abdominal fat as
compared to birds receiving 150 and 200 g/kg DM
dried leaves of sweet potato.

Carcass yield characteristics Giblets and gastrointestinal tract (GIT)

Inclusion of dried leaves of sweet potato up to 150 g/kg
DM did not affect the slaughter weight of chicks, but
supplementation at the level of 200 g/kg DM signifi-
cantly (P<0.01) decreased the slaughter weight of
chicks. The weights of carcass with fat, drumstick-
thigh, breast meat, and abdominal fat were higher (P<
0.01) for chicks fed diets containing dried leaves of
sweet potato up to 100 g/kg DM, but higher levels of
dried leaves of sweet potato inclusion resulted in
reduced weights of these carcass parameters (Table 4).
Broiler chicks receiving rations containing dried
leaves of sweet potato up to 100 g/kg DM performed
in similar manner with birds on the control diet in
terms of drumstick-thigh and breast meat weight, but
The absolute weight of edible offal (giblets) and its
weight relative to slaughter weight declined signifi-
cantly with increasing levels of dried leaves of sweet
potato. Birds fed diets containing dried leaves of
sweet potato up to 100 g/kg DM had higher absolute
and relative giblet weights than birds receiving 150
and 200 g/kg DM dried leaves of sweet potato
(Table 5). Among the giblets, the weights of heart
and liver were more affected by dietary levels of dried
leaves of sweet potato. The absolute and relative heart
weight of chicks was not affected by level of
supplementation up to 100 g/kg DM dried leaves of
sweet potato, but at the levels of 150 and 200 g/kg
DM, the weights deteriorated significantly (P<0.05).

Table 4 Carcass components as affected by inclusion levels of dried leaves of sweet potato in finisher rations

Carcass component Treatment SEM

T1 T2 T3 T4 T5

Slaughter weight, SW (g) 1414 a 1391 a 1339 a 1226 a 1042 b 40.6

Carcass with fat (g) 997 a 955 a 925 a 858 ab 734 b 26.2
Carcass with fat (g/kg SW) 705 687 691 670 705 8.4
Fat free carcass (g) 968 a 928 a 901 a 838 ab 720 b 24.7
Fat free carcass (g/kg SW) 685 667 673 684 691 9.5
Drumstick-thigh (g) 301 a 290 a 282 a 257 ab 201b 11.3
Drumstick-thigh (g/kg SW) 213 a 208 a 211 a 210 a 193 b 7.9
Breast meat (g) 228 a 220 a 219 a 209 a 180 b 6.0
Breast meat (g/kg SW) 161 ab 158 b 164 ab 170 a 173 a 6.1
Abdominal fat (g) 29 a 27 a 25 a 20 ab 14 b 1.5
Abdominal fat (g/kg SW) 21 19 18 16 13 2.9

Means with different lowercase letters in a row are significantly different at (P<0.05)
T1 was treatment 1 (control group) or chicks that were fed with a ration that did not contain sweet potato leaves; T2, T3, T4, and T5
were treatments 2, 3, 4, and 5, respectively (they were chicks whose rations were supplemented with 50, 100, 150, and 200 g/kg DM
sweet potato leaves, respectively)
SEM standard error of mean
Trop Anim Health Prod (2010) 42:687–695 693

Table 5 Giblet weights (gram) and percentages (percent) as Discussion

affected by inclusion levels of dried leaves of sweet potato in
finisher rations
The CP content of dried leaves of sweet potato in this
Parameter Treatment SEM study (Table 1) agreed with the results reported by
Teguia et al. (1997), and it has been reported that
T1 T2 T3 T4 T5
dried leaves of sweet potato could be considered as a
Giblet (g) 79 a 76 a 70 ab 64 b 64 b 2.0 valuable protein source in the form of fresh, dried, or
Giblet (g/kg SW) 56 b 54 b 53 b 52 b 61 a 3.7 silage, and could replace groundnut cake (Vanan
Gizzard (g) 32 32 31 30 30 1.1 2004). The ME of dried leaves of sweet potato in
Gizzard (g/kg SW) 23 23 23 24 29 2.5 this trial was equivalent to that reported by Hoang et
Heart (g) 9a 9a 9 ab 8 ab 8b 0.3 al. (2003). Dried leaves of sweet potato were
Heart (g/kg SW) 7b 7b 7b 7 ab 8a 0.6
comparable with maize in terms of EE, indicating its
Liver (g) 36 a 35 a 33 ab 28 b 36 a 1.0
potential to be used as a source of energy. The high
ash content of dried leaves of sweet potato reflected
Liver (g/kg SW) 25 b 25 b 25 b 23 c 34 a 4.5
the high mineral concentration of the sweet potato
Means with different lowercase letters in a row are significantly leaves.
different at (P<0.05) The lack of significant difference in daily DMI as a
T1 was treatment 1 (control group) or chicks that were fed with result of inclusion of dried leaves of sweet potato up
a ration that did not contain sweet potato leaves; T2, T3, T4, to the level of 150 g/kg DM was in agreement with
and T5 were treatments 2, 3, 4, and 5, respectively (they were
chicks whose rations were supplemented with 50, 100, 150, and the results obtained in pigs (Vanan 2004). The low
200 g/kg DM sweet potato leaves, respectively) daily DMI at higher levels of dried leaves of sweet
SEM standard error of mean potato might be presumably due to the presence of
anti-nutritional factors that reduce the DM intake. A
possible cause of the drop in DMI could be due to the
The absolute and relative weights of the liver showed fact that the leaf meal might have imparted on
a declining trend up to the level of 150 g/kg DM, but
both the weights increased at 200 g/kg DM dried
leaves of sweet potato. Table 6 Weights and lengths of different parts gastrointestinal
tract as affected by inclusion levels of dried leaves of sweet
There was no significant difference among treat- potato in finisher ration
ments in absolute and relative weights and lengths of
the GIT (Table 6). Except for ceca, the absolute and Parameter Treatment SEM
relative weights and lengths of the parts of GIT
T1 T2 T3 T4 T5
showed an increasing trend with increasing levels of
dried leaves of sweet potato supplementation, with GIT (g) 125 129 134 138 138 2.7
non-significant (P >0.05) difference among treat- GIT (g/kg SW) 88 93 100 113 132 17.7
ments. The non-significant (P>0.05) difference in GIT (cm) 204 211 210 204 198 3.0
the weights and lengths of the parts of GIT reflected Small intestine (g) 45 46 49 51 51 1.5
the fact that the inclusion of dried leaves of sweet Small intestine (g/kg SW) 32 33 37 41 49 7.1
potato would not result in increased fiber content of Small intestine (cm) 168 176 177 177 178 1.9
the diets that could have been accumulated in the GIT Ceca (g) 7 6 7 7 7 0.2
to increase its weights and lengths. Ceca (g/kg SW) 5 5 5 6 7 0.7
The trend analysis showed that there were linear, Ceca (cm) 17 17 17 17 16 0.2
quadratic, and cubic responses of chicks to the
inclusion levels of dried leaves of sweet potato. The T1 was treatment 1 (control group) or chicks that were fed with
linear response of the DMI, body weight gain, feed a ration that did not contain sweet potato leaves; T2, T3, T4,
and T5 were treatments 2, 3, 4, and 5, respectively (they were
conversion efficiency, and eviscerated carcass weight chicks whose rations were supplemented with 50, 100, 150, and
to the dried leaves of sweet potato were highly 200 g/kg DM sweet potato leaves, respectively)
significant (P<0.01), where as the quadratic and cubic GIT gastrointestinal tract, SW slaughter weight, SEM standard
responses were not statistically significant (P>0.05). error of mean
694
unpalatable taste to the feed, which consequently
inhibited the birds from consuming adequate quanti-
ties. On the other hand, Teguia et al. (1997) reported
the improved DMI with the level of dried leaves of
sweet potato in the diet, when the amino acid balance
of the diets was maintained by exogenous supple-
mentation of limiting amino acids in the leaves of
sweet potato. Vanan (2004) reported that lysine is the
first limiting amino acid and supplementation of
lysine in diets containing dried leaves of sweet potato
would increase the utilization of the feed.
The reduced body weight gain of birds at 150 and
200 g/kg DM sweet potato inclusion levels than birds
on the control diet (Table 3) agreed with results
reported by Teguia et al. (1997), which might be
associated with the generally depressed feed intake at
higher levels of dried leaves of sweet potato inclu-
sion, possibly attributable to deficiencies of certain
amino acids, such as lysine (Vanan 2004). The poor
feed conversion efficiency (Table 3) could be because
of poor nutrient utilization of birds at higher levels of
dried leaves of sweet potato in the ration, which
resulted in lower live weight gain of the chicks.
Farrell et al. (2000) reported the non-significant
difference in DM conversion efficiency by broilers
fed on diets containing dried sweet potato vine meals
at the levels of 0, 40, 80, 120, and 160 g/kg DM.
Chicks on rations containing 200 g/kg DM dried
leaves of sweet potato required higher CP and ME per
unit body weight gain than birds consumed diets
containing dried leaves of sweet potato at 50 and
100 g/kg DM. The poor CP and ME conversion
efficiency of birds on rations containing higher levels
of dried leaves of sweet potato might be due to low
feed intake and poor protein quality in terms of
essential amino acids in dried leaves of sweet potato.
The results of this study indicated the potential of
dried leaves of sweet potato to provide adequate
energy and protein for optimum growth and feed
efficiency when incorporated into the finisher chicks
ration up to the level of 100–150 g/kg DM. Similar
findings were reported by (Teguia et al. 1997), where
inclusion of dried leaves of sweet potato up to the
level of 200 g/kg DM did not have negative effects on
body weight and feed conversion efficiency.
The low carcass yield of broilers on diets containing
dried leaves of sweet potato beyond 100 g/kg DM
might be due to low nutrient utilization and the
consequent poor tissue growth and fat deposition of
Trop Anim Health Prod (2010) 42:687–695
birds. The low drumstick-thigh and breast meat weights
of broilers at 200 g/kg DM dried leaves of sweet potato
might be due to the poor nutrient utilization of chicks
possibly due to inadequacy in certain essential amino
acids required for optimum growth. Bartov (1998)
reported that breast meat yield was negatively correlat-
ed with dietary metabolizable energy and protein ratio,
and diets formulated on ideal protein basis resulted in
better carcass and breast meat yield. Birds consuming
diets containing dried leaves of sweet potato up to the
level of 100 g/kg DM accumulated more amounts of
abdominal fat as compared to birds receiving 150 and
200 g/kg DM dried leaves of sweet potato.
The declining trend of the absolute and relative
weights of the liver up to the level of 150 g/kg DM and
the increasing trend of both absolute and relative
weights at the level of 200 g/kg DM dried leaves of
sweet potato was indeed very difficult to explain
(Table 5), although Bestil et al. (1993) attributed such
an increase in weights of the giblets to detoxification
activities of liver and spleen if the birds eat toxic diets.
The results on weights and lengths of the parts of
GIT (Table 6) reflected the fact that the inclusion of
dried leaves of sweet potato would not result in
increased fiber content of the diets that could have
been accumulated in the GIT to increase its weights
and lengths. Iji (1999) reported that fibrous diets
increase the weight of the gut, length of the
esophagus, the small intestine, ceca, and rectum.
Conclusions
Dried leaves of sweet potato at the levels up to 100 g/kg
DM could be considered as the optimum level of
inclusion in the finisher ration for higher nutrient
intake and live weight gain of finisher chicks, whereas
at the levels up to 150 g/kg DM could be used for
higher carcass yield characteristics like drumstick-thigh
and breast meat. Therefore, depending on whether the
birds are sold on live weight or eviscerated carcass
weight basis, dried leaves of sweet potato could be
included in finisher Ross broiler chicks ration up to
100 and 150 g/kg DM for higher live weight and
carcass yield components, respectively.
Acknowledgements The authors thank the SID/SAREC
Female Student Funding Project for the funding and Haramaya
University for research facilities.
Trop Anim Health Prod (2010) 42:687–695
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