Abstract
Legumes provide high quality proteins with nutritional benefits for monogastric animals. Compared to other legume pulses, Bambara nuts (Vigna subterranean) grow in marginal soils, contain 12 different proteins and 214 identifiable peptides that readily provide nutritional and health benefits to consumers. Toasted Bambara nuts are consumed by humans, while the shells are ground and included in both poultry and ruminant rations as a readily degradable protein source. The hypothesis that turkey poults supplemented with toasted Bambara nuts by-products will respond with higher daily weight gains, faster growth, superior carcass characteristics, heavier organs and higher profit margins than unsupplemented poults was tested in this study with the primary objective of evaluating the response of grower turkey poults to supplementation with graded levels of Bambara nut by-products. The feeding trial lasted for 56 days and a completely randomised experimental design was utilised to randomly allocate 60 poults to five treatments of 12 poults each, comprising the control (0%), 7.5, 15, 22.5 and 30% inclusion level of toasted Bambara nut by-products. Compared to the control group, supplemented poults achieved a significantly better (P < 0.05) feed conversion ratio, heavier carcass traits, total and eviscerated organ weights and faster average daily gains. This superior performance was highest in poults supplemented at the 30% inclusion level which returned an 85% profit margin and a 10% reduction in feed cost compared to unsupplemented poults. These findings imply that turkey farmers can break even while achieving superior growth performance, heavier carcasses and nutritional benefits accruing from supplementation with toasted Bambara nuts by-products, hence the need to accept the tested hypothesis.