ABSTRACT

Food is required for growth, maintenance and reproductive processes of the body. The food (feeds) given to poultry consists chiefly of cereals and by-products of plant and animal origin and greens. These feeds are good sources of nutrients, which supports the functioning of the body, when consumed daily. Due to improper handling during production, these feed can become contaminated with microorganisms such as fungi. Ingestion of contaminated poultry feeds is an important route of poultry infection. Unhygienic poultry feed has led to nutrient losses and detrimental effect on poultry production and public health. This work is aimed at analyzing the fungi associated with these poultry feed. Four different commercial poultry feeds namely Broiler Superstarter, Grower Mash, Broiler Finisher and Layer Mash obtained from trade outlets in Benin City, Edo state, were analyzed for the presence of fungal species by using culture plate method and microscopy. The fungal species obtained were Aspergillus terreus, Aspegillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, and Rhizopus stolonifer, with Aspergillus flavus occurring in three out of four poultry feeds. The presence of these fungal species is likely due to the contamination of raw materials used in the preparation of the feeds. It is recommended that poultry feeds should be made from good quality grains and should be prevented from contamination from both anthropogenic activities and environment.