Performance Of Broiler Chicks Fed Supplemental Thiamin And Riboflavin In Groundnut Cake And Palm Oil Based Diets

320-day-old Hubbard broiler chicks were used to determine the interaction of supplemental thiamin (vit. B1) and riboflavin (vit. B2) and and palm oil on the performance of broilers fed practical diets based on groundnut cake. The diets were isocaloric and isonitrogenous and contained 2% or 4% palm oil, 0 or 0.05mg/kg thiamin and 0 or 0.10mg/kg riboflavin supplementation in various combinations to produce a total of 8 duplicate treatments of 20 birds per replicate. Daily feed intakes, weekly live weight and weight gains were measured and at the end of the 9th week two birds per replicate were slaughtered for carcass studies. Birds on treatment 5 with 2.5mg/kg thiamin, 5.0mg/kg riboflavin and 4% fat grew faster. It is suggested, from the observation, that 2.5mg/kg thiamin, 5.0 mg/kg riboflavin and 4% palm oil was adequate for optimum broiler performance when diets contain groundnut cake and further supplementation with these vitamins would not be beneficial.