Cowpea (vigna unguiculata) meal substitute for soybean meal in diet of cobb 500 broiler chickens

The high price of commercial feeds in the poultry production industry causes production costs to increase in the broiler production business. Research was conducted at the Zambia College of Agriculture Field Station, Department of Animal Science, Muchinga Province, Zambia. The research aimed to evaluate the use of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) as a complete substitute for soybean meal in a two-phase feeding system on the performance of Cobb 500 broiler chicks. The diets had broiler requirements of 20% crude protein (starter feed) and 19% (finisher feed) formulated according to standards. A total of 90-day-old chicks were allocated to three treatment groups: the first treatment, VU0%, had soybeans (no cowpea) included in the starter and finisher diet; the second treatment, VU75%, had cowpea meal included at 75% in the starter and finisher feed; and the third treatment, VU100%, had cowpea meal included at 100% in the starter and finisher feed. Each treatment had 3 replications, with 10 chickens per replication. The results showed no significant difference (p> 0.05) in feed intake, weight gain, or feed conversion ratio in UV0%, UV75%, and UV100%. The conclusion is that cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) can be a complete substitute for soybean meal in broiler starter and finisher feed diets when included at 100% in starter and finisher diets.