Effect of Dietary Inclusion of Antibotics and Wild Sunflower Leafmeal {Ethonia diversiflia} Fed to Laying Birds

Abstract

The effect of addition of penicillin, streptomycin and wild sunflower leaf in layer diet on the
perfornza~zce of hens was investigated. Forty (40) Shaver Brown layers at tzuenty four weeks of age
were involved in a completely randomized design experiment. They were randonzly allocated to give
dietanj treatments. Each treatment was relicated twice with four birds in a replicate. The control diet
coiztaiized 0% wild sunflower leaf meal WSFLM (diet 1). Basa diet contained 7.5% WSFLM. Penicillin
and sfreptotlzycin were separately added to basal diets at 100ppm. The last diet contained basal diet
with the mixture of tlze two antibiotics at 100ppm each.
There was sig~zificant irnprovement in egg weight (p<0.01), and hen day production (p0.005) of birds
fed basal and antibiotic supplemented diets. Yolk colour was significanfly(<O.Ol) enhanced by the
leaf meal however, feed intake, lzaugh unit, yolk index and shell thickness were not affected by
dietary treatments.
Conclusively, the use of wild sunflower leaf rneal and these antibiotics may be adequate fur laying
perfornzance of birds in the tropics.