AVAILABILITY AND USABILITY OF ESSENTIAL AMINO ACIDS BY POULTRY FARMERS AND FEED MILLERS WITHIN IBADAN METROPOLIS OF OYO STATE, NIGERIA.

Abstract

It has been well reported that high amino acid density diets improve feed conversion and increase broiler chickens’ weight gain and breast meat yield. Moreover, the availability and usability of notable essential amino acids seem limited in Nigeria. Therefore, the study examined the availability and usability of essential amino acids by poultry farmers and feed millers within the Ibadan metropolis of Oyo state, Nigeria. The field survey was carried out through the use of structural questionnaires. The information collected was subjected to descriptive statistics using SPSS (2000) statistical software to generate frequency. The result revealed that majority (80.0%) of the respondents indicated that they are aware of amino acids. Almost all the respondents (94.0%) indicated that they are aware of methionine and lysine amino acids, respectively. However, only 44.0, 34.0, and 26.0% indicated awareness of threonine, tryptophan, and valine amino acid respectively. Also, 78.0% of the respondents indicated that they are aware of the necessity of amino acids in poultry feed, moreover only 20, 2, and 0% use Threonine, Tryptophan, and Valine in their formulation. In conclusion, methionine and lysine are the most popular essential feed-grade commercial amino acids used within the study area while threonine, tryptophan, and valine feed-grade commercial amino acids are yet to gain much popularity, and this accounts for their low usage among farmers and feed millers. This study hereby recommends more awareness creation among farmers through seminars and other fora about these amino acids and their benefits in poultry production.